More Than Hard Work

Scripture:
"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. It is vain for you to rise up early and to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep." Psalm 127:1-2

Observation:
Scriptures are not against hard work. If one reads through the book of Proverbs he will find that there are many commands for hard work and many warnings against laziness. But this verse stands out. It serves as a powerful reminded that while hard work is a command from God, it is not the secret to success. It does not guarantee anything. If man does not first seek God's agenda all his labors will be in vain.

Application:
This sounds so stinking simple. I can pray before I enter into a work, admit I can't do it without Him, and God will show up to bless the works of my hands. He gets the glory. I get success. Life is good. Simple. Wrong.

I need to jump over to Luke for some additional light on this passage. In Luke 9:23-27 Christ addresses those who are wanting to join Him in labor. It speaks of something that I do not like to hear. I must deny myself. I must be willing to give away my life. I must wake up daily and surrender my desires to Him. Yuck.

After reading that and then returning to Psalm 127, my perspective is a little different. God's call is not for me to ask Him to bless what I am doing. God's plan is for me to join Him in a blessed work that fits His purposes. If I am working on anything else I labor in vain.

I can work my fingers to the bone by getting started early and staying up late, but I will never get caught up. I can take drastic measures to protect my investments, possessions, and life; but I will never feel secure.

The only thing that can bring security is surrendering all and following after God. I have struggled hard with that this weekend. The salary of a minister is not extravagant. The lap of luxury is no longer on my radar screen. That is hard for me. It is part of the cross that I take up daily. I have so many dreams that I have abandoned to pursue God. I have received so much in return for what I left behind, but some days it is still so hard.

Prayer:
You chose different paths for each of us. Some are called to business. Some to humanitarian work. And some are called to full-time ministry. I see this modeled in Jesus' ministry. He told some to stay where they were and others He asked to leave all behind and follow after Him. None is better than the other as the only thing that matters is am I following after You?

I pray today that You provide me with what I need to stay on course with the calling You have for my life. When I become troubled with my work remind me to check my alignment with You. Speak clearly to me. I ask that my prayer time with you be transformed from the often petty time of wishing for things that it often is and instead become an amazing time of connecting with You and receiving direction.

I have wasted much of my life laboring in vain on houses that You did not build. I hate living that way. I confess before You today that none of my dreams, as tempting as they are, have the capacity to bring me joy or contentment. I lay them all down before You again today and ask for Your wisdom to guide me to the house You desire to build with my life.