Work Without The Lord Is In Vain

Ps. 127:1,2 "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep." The Psalm is talking about our work, whether it is building a house, guarding a city, or whatever project we are doing. The Psalm tells us that unless the Lord is the one who is giving the vision, the plan, and is personally involved in the project, that it will be in vain. This is not to say that we cannot do projects on our own without God. God has created people in such an ingenious way, that we can accomplish tremendous things on our own. The tower of Babel is a great example of people in unity working together to accomplish a great goal. God Himself said in Gen. 11:6, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them." So it is not that we cannot do anything without God, but that our work will be in vain without God. Our work will produce no Kingdom benefits without God working through us. Ps. 127:1,2 uses the phrase 'it is vain' 3 times to impress upon us our need for God to work through us. All our worry, and anxiety, and trying to do things in our own strength is shown to be vain. If we rise up early, and stay up late, eating the bread of sorrows (anxiety), going over and over things, losing sleep over it all, it will not help solve our problems or bring about solutions. He gives His beloved sleep. But what do we do when we toss and turn, and can't sleep, because we can't turn off our mind, worrying about things. We go back to the first verse, which reminds us that unless the Lord builds the house, our work will be in vain. So we have to trust God, and realize that unless God works through us, our work will be in vain. We must turn it all over to God, and with trust in our hearts, we will be able to get a good peaceful sleep, which we need for a clear mind, a positive attitude, and health for our bodies. So may God bless you with a trusting heart, depending upon God in the building of His work, and a good peaceful sleep that will refresh you for tomorrow.