"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." (Ps. 127:1-2)
I was recently watching a 7th Heaven episode and it revolved around a church burning. A church that had stood for over a hundred years was gone in a matter of minutes. When the daughter of the pastor was asked about it she said, “It’s just a roof and all the roof does is keep the rain off”. Funny how the Lord takes things like that and makes us start to think. It can be a line in a movie, a lyric in a song or even a comment in a casual conversation that makes us hear him as if he was proclaiming from the mountain tops.
Psalm 127 is so powerful with so few words. In two versus Solomon gives us wisdom in how to live and how to be the church. He gives us the foundational principle of putting the Lord first and points to the work that is to be done. He also gives us a warning that without God, it is all in vain. He concludes verse two with the hope that we find restoration, peace and comfort in him.
I believe what Solomon is also alluding to here is how we can get our priorities mixed up. “The watchman stays alert in vain”. How can this be? He is watching for the bad guys who may try to assault the city. How can this be in vain? Well I believe the Lord is speaking through Solomon, reminding us that while things are good to do and they make sense, by leaving him out we are missing out on the blessing and the protection that he brings. In a way, we have turned God into that roof. We just have him there to keep the rain off. When the rain gets heavy and begins to blow in the openings, we call on him. The thing is, he doesn’t just want to be the roof. He wants to be the whole building that surrounds us and fights our battles before we even see them.
May we through daily practice keep him in the midst of all we do and build upon him and the life he has planned for us.
DEVOTIONAL PRAYER A Prayer for Priorities and Focus
God, you provide everything that we need to survive and guide our feet as we pursue your callings in our lives. Help us to focus on the important things you have put before us in whatever season we find ourselves in. Forgive us when we don't see the many blessings you have laid before us and give us confidence to continue moving forward in faith when we get distracted by all else around us. In your son's loving name we pray, Amen.
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