Are you stressed? Are you able to get the rest you need? Who is in charge of building your life? In our culture, people are expected to be in charge of building their lives, and in the process they take on heavy burdens. However, the scripture teaches us a different approach to life!
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain. Psalm 127:1
The Lord is the builder of our lives and He is the one who guards the city. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have a part to play in building our lives. It only means that we don’t take charge and attempt to make things happen. Instead, we follow God’s leading.
While man likes to know and see the entire blueprint, God builds differently. He has the blueprint, but He shows us enough to take the next step. He doesn’t give us all the details. This puts us in the position of trusting Him with all our hearts and leaning not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).
Living in a free country is a great blessing. However, there are expectations that come with living in freedom. First is the fact that you have many choices to choose from. Second, you are responsible for making the right choice in your life. This sounds great until you find out you don’t know how to choose and you don’t know which choice is the best choice in life. This becomes a burden, which people don’t know what to do with. At the same time, they can’t complain about because they are blessed with freedom and choices. The truth is we don’t have all the answers, and we will not be able to get the answers by research or study. Sometimes the choices are overwhelming and we don’t know enough about the choice to pick the right path. For example, a teenager deciding what major they want to pursue in college, can be overwhelming. They don’t have the life experience to know what all those majors mean and what they will really enjoy doing for a career. We all need to lift our eyes and voices to the Lord and ask Him to intervene and help us with our decisions. He is the builder of our lives, and He will help us navigate through the maze of information and choices.
There are many stressed people in our society, and some of it has to do with people taking on burdens that don’t belong to them. People stress about the future and try to figure things out. All the while they miss out on the present blessing of God’s provision. Some stress about their loved one’s lives whose lives they cannot control. This is a no-win situation as the person is completely dependent on others’ good choices to be happy or at peace.
The above scripture clearly tells us that when we do life in our own effort, we do not see the benefits of our carnal labor. When people build their lives on their own, they bring about stress, health issues, and problems in their relationships. Furthermore, their efforts come short of what God had intended for them and their families. On the other hand, when we submit our lives to the Lord, He builds our lives in such a way that has stability for the long haul. He will keep watching over it, and we can get the rest that He has designed for us.
The scripture tells us that the Lord is the watchman. He watches over the affairs of our lives. He guards and guides. He is our Good Shepherd. If we want to have a good night sleep and not stress about things, we need to surrender our burdens to Him and let the Lord watch over those areas that we cannot guard in our own strength.
Think about all your commitments and choices that bring about stress and anxiety in your life. What needs to change? What do you need to surrender to the Lord?
Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay