We Rest, He Works

Psalm 127:1 (ESV)

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Good morning Zebras,

At the Colusa retreat God gave me today’s verse, which has quickly become one of my favorites.  Debra, one of the women organizing the event shared it with me and she said that it had become her current life verse.

I liked the verse so much I came home and looked it up in context.  The entire passage reads:

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.

God gives us rest because He loves us.  He does not want us anxiously toiling night and day. He wants us to rest and trust that He will provide for us like He has promised.

But when I read it in the NASB the promise got even better. Although the first verse is the same the second verse reads:

Psalm 127:2 (NASB95) 

It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Isn’t that cool? God gives us rest because He loves us and He continues to provide for us even while we sleep.  Of course, if we’d thought about it, we would know it is true.  We know God doesn’t go to sleep when we do and he doesn’t quit watching over us just because we go to bed. 

But do we act like it?

Do we act like rest is a gift from God given to those He loves and that He is perfectly capable of accomplishing whatever needs to get done while we rest?  Or have we elevated ourselves to such a place of importance that we think everything depends on us? Unintentionally acting like God can’t get anything done unless we assist Him.

God says He gives rest to those He loves and He promises to keep working while we rest, in faith we need to take Him up on it.

Love,

Jill