Unless the LORD builds the house, they
labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps
awake in vain. (Psalms
127: 2a NASB)
Recently I had a day on my job that was
an exercise in futility. I executed a change in my work schedule that I
thought would be productive. When the desired results were not forthcoming I
pressed even harder. I initiated subsequent strategies to try and make my
plan work, but to no avail. I worked longer and harder than usual but
accomplished even less than I did on most days. When God is not working
with us we actually labor in vain.
The
next morning part of my daily reading was Psalms 127. God is always right on
time. As I read this passage I wondered
why my efforts the previous day seemed so futile. Then it dawned on me
that I had been trying to “build the house”, so to speak, without God’s help.
God had choreographed this little incident so I could read this portion of
Scripture at just the right moment. What an amazing God.
Sometimes there's a very fine line between diligence and striving. Of
course God wants his people to be diligent. But God exhorts us to not strive. “Cease
striving and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NASB). So the pertinent
point is how do we distinguish between hard work and nervous effort? It
is simply the one that is accompanied with peace. Looking back on that
day, I had a restless spirit. God gave
me a sign but because I was not looking for it, I did not see it. Peace has
been referred to as the barometer of the soul. It’s the indicator of how
well our efforts are aligning with God's will. It is not the absence of
struggle but the presence of calm or tranquilly in our daily battles. Our
Heavenly Father is concerned about his children's daily life and peace is the
compass that guides us.
The pivotal question in
this process is whether we believe that God wants to take care of us in the
mundane aspects of our lives. Sometimes as Christians we can act like deists
who believe that God created the universe and then sort of let it play out on
its own. As you know the Bible says, “Faith without works is dead.”
But some of us practice that as work without faith. Maybe I should
have taken a few moments alone with God and asked him why I was so restless
that day? He may well have revealed to me the source of my unrest. When we give
way to the temptation of frenzied activity, it never lends itself to obedience
to His will. When we feel that compulsion to work longer and longer days,
sometimes we should just shorten our workday and retire early. This may
be the most diligent, obedient, and productive thing to do; “For He gives to
His beloved even in his sleep” (v. 2c).
Image used with permission by Microsoft.
Image used with permission by Microsoft.
Ken
Barnes, the author of “The
Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email:
kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
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