Your Daily Crossroad
Life In Vain: Your Job
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 127:2)
Our standard work week in America is 40 hours. We work five more hours a week than the French, which totals a whopping nine more weeks a year for Americans. Most of us get two weeks off for vacation, while the average European gets six weeks of vacation. Two out of three Americans also fail to get eight hours of sleep a night, and 40 percent of them said they have a hard time staying awake on the job. We are working harder, longer, and sleeping less. This isn’t anything new as we read today’s Bible verse.
We aren’t any happier than we were 50 years ago when we worked less, made less money, and had less productivity. King Solomon had it right when he said that we work too hard and sleep less in vain. We do this in vain because we are “eating the bread of anxious toil”. Essentially, we are worrying too much about having enough money for things that ultimately don’t matter (Matthew 6:31-33)
Instead of seeking money to pay for all of the things we are worried about in life, we should first seek God, his kingdom, and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33). After all, he is the Creator of the universe. This isn’t to say that we should go about our lives without working or having a job, but that we will have a purpose; no longer will we work in vain, but we will work for the kingdom of God. Our job won’t be just about money, but doing what the Lord has called us to do to advance his kingdom. Imagine going to work and not dreading it because you know God has a plan for you there. Sometimes we worry too much about our future instead of asking God what he wants us to do in the here and now.
Are you too busy working for yourself, instead of stepping back and asking God where he would have you work?
When I read this it blessed me. It caused me to stop and pause for a moment, even as a stay at home mom I too have to ask myself this very question, do I worry too much about my future instead of asking God what he wants me to do in the here and now? Let’s all take time today and answer this very question. Let’s prioritize God as first in our lives, to often we allow life to take the place of our relationships, our church time and before we know it we haven’t set a Christlike example for others or maybe even our children to follow after and Church is no longer a priority in our homes. My prayer is this series had struck a cord deep down and even if it’s just one who stops and goes, this is me, I need to prioritize things differently in my life, then it’s done what it has been sent to do. Let’s be real with God and ourselves and choose to make a change, not only for us but for our future generations. A heart on fire for God starts with you!!
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Matthew 6:31-33
Life In Vain: Your City
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. (Psalm 27:1)
We just learned that our lives can be referred to as a house, and that Jesus should be our foundation in the previous devotion. Today, our talk turns to cities. The city was especially important to King Solomon because it is where the Temple was. This was the place that God literally dwelt and was the religious center for the Jews. If the city of Jerusalem went, so did the Jewish culture.
We all can choose whether we want to be a part of a city of light set on a hill (Matthew 5:14) or, follow the path of Lot and be part of the city of darkness where he eventually lost everything he had (Genesis 19). Both cities have watchmen over them.The city of light has Christ watching over it, while the city of darkness has the politicians, celebrities, writers, and people of influence watching over them. While living in Africa as a missionaries, we had a guard watching our compound (the place where all the missionaries lived) for a week at a time. Obviously, they couldn’t stay up for a whole week and had to sleep. Multiple times, when they were asleep, people would sneak in while we were even sleeping and steal solar panels and other supplies. We felt as though we were being watched over, when in reality we weren’t. Our “city” was being watched in vain. We really weren’t being kept safe by our watchman. You might feel safe in the the city of darkness, but in reality the watchmen are not protecting you.
While Christ should be the head or watchman of your life and family, he is also the watchman of the Church (Colossians 1:18). The Church is really a smaller city within the city it resides. If you aren’t a part of one of these cities, be sure to find one soon! Make sure that their watchman is Christ and not just a smooth-talking leader/preacher. Also, remember that our watchman, Jesus Christ, laid down His life for the city and does not watch over it in vain (John 10:7-11).
Is Christ the watchman over the city you belong to?
When I read this I instantly thought about how blessed we are to have leadership in our church that preach the truth and who’s watchman is without a doubt Christ and they don’t give place to “smooth talking.” What city are you apart of?
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!!
Today’s Reading is John 10:7-11
Life In Vain: Your House
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. (Psalm 127:1)
In the Bible, the building of a house can often be referred to as your life or family (Genesis 16:2, Ruth 4:11, 2 Corinthians 5:1-4). The most important part when building a house, or any building for that matter, is the foundation.
All of our lives are built on foundations which determine their direction. Jesus tells us in a parable that when we build our house on a foundation of our own choosing, it ends up crumbling when the bad times happen (Matthew 7:24-27). When we build our own foundation, instead of a foundation that is on Christ and his words, we build it in vain. All the hard work we put in ends up crumbling down from one thing, or another.
As we lay the foundation for our lives on Jesus, we allow him to do the heavy lifting. When we let God construct the foundation, He is the one who ends up building our house and the direction of our lives. When this happens, all things work for our good (Romans 8:28) and when the storms of this life come, we are still left standing (Matthew 7:24-27). We also begin to pray that not our will, but His will be done (Luke 22:42). We find our lives are no longer built in vain, but on a foundation that will never fail.
Examine the foundation your life is laid on, and be encouraged today that you can start anew with Christ as your foundation.
One question crossed my mind when I read this, What foundation is your life laid on, is it a foundation of your own choosing or is it built on Christ and His words? Let’s ponder on this today and answer honestly.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Matthew 7:24-27
Life In Vain
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)
We are starting a four part daily devotional series called “The Vain Life”. This series focuses on the first two verses of Psalm 127. This Psalm was written by none other than King Solomon. He is the writer of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs also known as the wisdom books. He was considered to be the wisest man in the world. Not because of how smart he was, but because God said he would make him wise (1 Kings 3:12). He had everything his heart desired, yet never seemed to be happy with all the pleasures of the world.
We often think of the word vain as a person who is full of themselves, however, King Solomon was referring to what Merriam-Webster defines as “having no real value, worthless, marked by futility or ineffectualness.” King Solomon tells us in the Bible that we can live our life in vain even if we have everything we want. Our life can be useless or meaningless if it isn’t a life that is living for Christ. This can be very convicting for us. Fortunately, in the two verses we are going to study, we can learn about areas in our life that we can learn to live with a purpose and not in vain. Here are a few questions to think about before we dig into these verses over the next few days:
1. Are there areas in your life where you are living in vain?
2. Are the things of the world really worth living for?
3. When you die, could people say you lived your life with purpose?
4. Think about what would make you really happy now, and examine if it is in line with living for Christ.
Remember that God doesn’t want us to live our life in vain, and has made a way for us to live a life with a purpose through the Cross of Christ.
After reading this I thought it would be great to join in on this four part daily devotional series. I hope you will join with me as we take this journey together the next four days and I pray at the end you are spiritually stronger than you were today. Take a moment today and honestly answer those four questions, maybe even write your answer down to reflect upon at the end of this four part daily devotional series.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalm 127:1-2