BY GREG CRUM
“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.” Psalm 127:1-2
In times of great fear and restlessness there is a quietness of soul that can be found when we determine to trust in the One that cares enough and is strong enough to watch over our souls. There is a lullaby that Heaven sings to quieten the heart of God’s children when they reach out to Him in utter dependence. Friends, there is a rest that is only found at the intersection of God’s will and our obedience!
Over the last few years, we have had several conversations at our church about our need to demonstrate the appropriate effort in our lives regarding our relationship with the Lord. It seems that one of the stumbling blocks for many modern American Christians is a genuine apathy towards spiritual growth. We’ll spend hours every evening surfing the web to learn more about our newest hobby, but struggle to crack open our Bibles on a consistent basis. In short, it’s spiritual laziness, and we can’t expect to grow in God when we don’t extend the effort to “draw nigh.”
With that said, Psalm 127 reminds us that all our efforts, no matter how tremendous, don’t guarantee success. There is another factor involved. Our efforts must align with God’s will, His desire, for our lives, because if He’s not the co-laborer in our work, our work is in vain. Thankfully, the opposite is also true. When our labor is invested in the field God has currently called us to, there are exceptional results on the way. This is when “whatever we put our hand to prospers.” This was key in the tremendous success of the early Christian church, and, if you were to dig a little deeper, a key to every successful move of God that has occurred since.
In I Corinthians 3:9 Paul noted for us that he and his companions were “labourers together with God.” Yes, they were putting in the effort, but their efforts were aided by God as if He was right beside them hammering away as well. How could they fail?! They couldn’t, as long as the project undertaken was God approved!
So, the overall success or failure of our endeavors in life depends on the Lord being our co-laborer. But to circle back to our first thoughts, there’s an added benefit to being at the intersection of God’s will and our obedience in working in His vineyards. It is here, and really, only here, that we find the greatest amount of grace in our lives.
I Corinthians 15:10 and 15:58 both speak of a grace to excel and abound as we labor with the Lord. James 4:6-7 also speaks of this grace and lets us know that there is a supernatural inner working that can make life so much “easier” and remove much of the resistance that this world offers. This is another aspect of the “Amazing” grace we sing of, a substance that provides rest that comes through our trust that God is working with us and for us as we work in the fields He has called us to.
Now, again, the opposite is also true. We can try to do our own thing, or maybe something we think is God’s thing, but as we work and work, we find ourselves faced with undue hardships. Think about what Jesus told Saul/Paul in Acts 9. He was working, but against the Lord, and Jesus told him that “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” There are a lot of Christians with sore legs today because they are kicking against Jesus’ prodding for them to get out of the field they are currently in and into his! Brothers and sisters, let’s not be one of these Christians. Let’s focus our efforts on the fields that God has for us in this time in our lives. Then, once we know we are where we are supposed to be, let’s work, work, and work with and in His grace and see greater results than we thought possible!
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.