December 14 – Sleep to those He loves

Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.  In vain you get up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food—yes, He gives sleep to the one He loves. (Psalm 127:1-2 HCSB)

Workaholics are everywhere.  Perhaps you don’t consider yourself one, but find yourself being pushed to exhaustion to get things done, to bring in the paycheck, to pay the bills and to keep everyone happy around you.  You may be trying to build a life with extreme effort, and find in the end that all those late nights and early mornings were all in vain.  

Unless the Lord builds, and unless the Lord watches – these are the conditions to this promise.  How do we know that the Lord is with us when we embark on the plans for our lives?  It’s easy: are we putting Him first in everything we do?  Do we live for Him above all else?

If God is calling a father to give up extra time at work to spend with his troubled teen-aged son, but that father rejects the call and continues placing his work before all else, that work will be in vain, and it will all come crashing down in a matter of time.  If God calls a student to be committed to coming to church on Sundays and one other day of the week, even when he has homework, but the student decides that his grades are more important, his all-night cram sessions will be of no use to his life.  He may pass the grade, but in the end give permission to the devil to steal something of value from him.  Or if a wife who is trying to build a godly home, but refuses to show respect and love to her unbelieving husband, all her eager attempts will be in vain.  God is not the one building your house, career or life, when you are calling all the shots.

But when He is, that means that you have surrendered the driver’s seat to Him, and even when He directs you to go in the opposite direction from where you thought, you obey with total trust.  Then you will see the results of your prayers and the foundations of what God is building in you, become firm.  

There are many who will be burning the midnight oil tonight for no good reason.   When we commit our ways to God and are careful to obey His every word, we can rest and even be blessed while we sleep.