Unless the Lord build the house ……(I) In four areas of life

The verse continues “they labor in vain who build it.” This Psalm (127) deals with the issues of life. In this quote, verse 1a, it is talking about what we build, what we create. It is about ministry and how we spend our time. In 1b it is about security (guarding the city). In verse 2 it is about anxiety over our ability to provide, and in verse 3 about family. And if it is all in vain if God is not in it, then surly it is important to know if and when He is! I was talking with a friend one time, who has some really good ideals about ministry. At the time he was wrestling with should he follow through with his ideas. It involved some risk of course, and he was bouncing his ideas off me. I asked him “What is the Lord saying about it?” Now I regard my friend as a mature Christian, and his response surprised me a little, because what he said was “How would I know?”

In these last days, the Lord is restoring many things to the church that, at various levels, have been lost. And what stuck me about this conversation, was that the kind of relationship with God, where we expect to hear His voice, seems to be something that is largely missing from the wider church. And if building (or the other three things) is in vain if the Lord is not in it, and if the church has no idea what is of God and what is not, then is it any wonder that much of what we do is not bearing fruit (or worse)? It is not meant to be this way. I mean if the essence of eternal life is relationship with God (John 17:3), then surly communication with the God who speaks, has to be a big part of that relationship! In fact God has spoken throughout history, but supremely in these last days, He has spoken and does speak in and through His Son (Hebrews 1:1, 2; John 10:3, 4, 27). Two of the ways He is speaking today is through prophecy and hearing His voice. Because these things have largely been lost to the church, there is much to say about them.

The “in vain,” twice repeated in verse 1, underlines the the importance of bringing everything to to God. It is part of being childlike (Matthew 18:3). This certainly goes against the grain of our rugged North American individualism, but there is a promise to those who do things God’s way and it is “ and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3e). The “and” points to what is perhaps the clearest prerequisite for hearing Him and discerning His guidance, namely turning from the council and the paths of the ungodly, refusing to sit with the scornful and meditating on His Holy Word (verses 1,2). The thing about the gift of free will, the ability to choose, is that it involves our needing to take responsibility for our choices. And one of the things we stress over and over in recovery (true sanctification) is that what we get out of life, is directly proportional to what we put into it. Salvation (I mean the justification aspect of it) is free. Becoming free and entering the abundant life will cost you everything you are and have. But it is the only way to prosper in all we do!

Father, You do not command us to love You will all our hearts, minds, souls and strength because You are some megalomaniac demanding total capitulation. No Lord, adherence to Your commandments bring us life (Psalm 119:35). And as someone once put it “If all else fails, read the instructions.” And Lord in so many ways Your Word is an instruction manual for life. Help us Lord to get our noses into this, Your feed bag, in Jesus Name Amen