Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Whatever You Do

Psalm 127
English Standard Version (ESV)

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
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[a] 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 entire of theme of this passage is that what we do is in vain unless it is from the Lord and for His glory.  We can work hard morning to night but unless it has the Lord’s blessing, it is not worth doing, we will just be spinning our wheels.  Does that mean that there can’t be successful people in this world unless they are Christians?  That depends on how you define success!  I would have to say, “yes, that is what that means” because success in my eyes comes at the end of this life not during this life.  That is a hard concept to actually comprehend unless you know the reason for your existence.  We are here to serve Christ in whatever capacity that we exist.  If we do everything for our own gain then we are the ones spinning our wheels.

The last part of this chapter is at times hard for me to comprehend.  Take me for example, I was only able to bear two children and lost two children.  Some see that as a sign of weakness.  Other women are unable to bear any children.  Do they cause their spouse to not be blessed?  The answer to that question is, absolutely not.  When we look at our lives and consider that it is God who is in control of all things we realize that it is He who chooses where our blessings will come from.  I was blessed with two amazing daughters who have filled my life with joy.  They love the Lord and they serve Him.  I could stand at any gate with them and be blessed when my enemies try to push be over.  Yet, I know that those two daughters are not here because I willed them to be, if that were the case I would have at least two others.  Our daughters were given to us by the Lord for a purpose, to further His kingdom.  My husband doesn’t have to have full quiver of children to be blessed and neither do I.  What we do need to be blessed is to know that whatever we do, we don’t do it in vain.  That we live in the grace of our Lord, we thrive because of His mercy, and because of that we are blessed to call Him our Father.  As you seek Him today, know that whatever path you may take, whatever life might throw at you, whatever you do, do it for the glory of our Lord and Savior because any other way will be a waste of precious time on this Earth.

Seeking Him with all my heart,


Sheila

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