TRUST GOD! DON’T TRUST YOURSELF!
Psalm 127
Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
The first verse of this psalm quickly attracts our attention,
as it has been quoted many times because of its wonderful content. Before we
meditate on the meaning, I want to remind you that this psalm, too, is a song
of ascent.
We do not know at what time or occasion Solomon wrote this
psalm. But we do know that as the pilgrims returned to Jerusalem for worship,
they sang these psalms of ascent. They lived far from their beloved city and
most times in very difficult environments. They probably desired their
situations to change and probably worked hard and “worried” hard!
As we read this psalm, we all can think of things we are
trying to build or achieve or change in our lives. We can think of things that
we would like to protect ourselves from. We can think of needs that seem to be
hard to meet.
The writer very clearly reminds the readers that building
without trusting or resting in God is vain labor. We can try to protect
ourselves in many ways, but the true watchman over our lives is the Lord, Himself.
Worrying will not provide anything but sleepless nights and long, anxious days
of work.
We are never told in the Bible not to plan or work hard. God
expects us to be diligent, not lazy. The Word of God admonishes us, however,
not to take God’s glory for ourselves. All we do is because of His infinite
grace and care for us. Secondly, we are admonished not to worry, but to trust
the One who carefully and lovingly holds all things in His hands.
I must admit that I am often assailed by worry and sleepless
nights. The pressures of life are real and constant, but I know what truths need
to be continuously brought back to my mind:
- I can trust the character
of my sovereign God! He is holy and just and faithful. He will do what is
right.
- I can trust the power of
my sovereign God! There is nothing that is beyond His reach and His
omnipotence.
- I can trust the wisdom of
my sovereign God! Not only is His character perfect and His power without
limit, but also He has perfect wisdom in what He does. Nothing puzzles Him
or confuses Him. God knows how to work together every event in the whole
universe. This amazes me!
- I can trust the love of my
sovereign God. Every action of God is motivated by His love, which is
eternal and faithful.
You might be thinking that I have written something similar
before, but these are the things I need to remind myself of every day, as new
situations come up or old situations don’t seem to go away. Neither self-reliance
nor worry is pleasing to God, for He is honored by our grateful trust in Him. I
simply need to trust in my sovereign God!
Besides His caring for me during difficulties, my sovereign
God also has a positive purpose for me as His ambassador:
- God wants the Gospel to
progress in me! Every day God is active in my life, conforming me into the
image of His son.
- God wants to use me to promote
the Gospel in the lives of other believers! God is preparing me to be an
example and a voice of His Word to those believers who are part of my
local church, or whom God simply brings in my path.
- God wants to use me to see
the Gospel progress in this dark world. My trust and reliance and love for
my Savior can and should be light to unbelieving people.
Solomon ends his psalm with a reminder of what immense
blessings children are. God is the one who gives them, and they are to be
received as gifts. The writer even infers, by using weaponry images, that they
are part of His way of defending men against their enemies.
We might think that children are also the cause of some the
worries that we’d rather not have in our lives. Reality is, however, that even regarding
our children, trust in God needs to be the source of our ongoing strength.
I know that I would love to change some of the things I have
done as a parent, some of the ways I have educated my sons, but as they have
grown older, all I can do is trust the work of God in their lives. As I watch
my grandchildren grow, the best I can do for them is pray and trust God to do
His perfect work.
I love all my children and I know that God loves them far
more than I can! I will entrust them to Him.
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