Psalm 127: Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. 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 … sleep.
This is part of a psalm or hymn that the people of Israel sang as they journeyed up to Jerusalem during the three most important Holy Days. These feast days were family events and whole families, not just individuals, sang the song.
The most important message of the psalm is that, no family or society can have a lasting impact unless it is built by God.
I took two seven-year-olds canoeing last summer. I told them how to move around in a canoe, crouching low and holding on to both gunnels. I showed them how to do it by traveling from the bow to the stern of the canoe while crouching and holding the sides. I ordered them to put their paddles in before they got in and to never stand up in a canoe.
So when it was time to take their positions in the canoe what did they do? They stood up straight as pokers, clutching only their paddles, and walked along the bottom of the canoe like they were walking onto a Boeing 737. Meanwhile I dropped my paddle and lunged for the gunnels and shifted my weight around like a crazy man to keep from capsizing before we even left shore!
It was not that they were stupid or careless, they were just kids who had never been canoeing. By the end of the day they were doing much better and we had a great time… at least I know I did.
In canoeing as with life, there is no way to learn unless you get out there and try your hand at it. But when it comes to something as complex and important as building families, God can’t rely on telling us, showing us or ordering us how to do it. He needs to do the heaviest lifting and shift Himself to keep the enterprise afloat.
This means that our most important action is to put our families in position to be instructed, corrected and most of all steered by God.
Is God building your house or do you just allow Him to give advice when you ask for it? Do you consciously consult and wait on God regarding family decisions… decisions about how to spend your time and your money? Is Sunday worship and discipleship training a priority or an afterthought?
This psalm says that sleep or restfulness is a gift from God. A faithful family, for all its busyness, is not so harried that it has no center… no peace within itself. There can be too much entertainment, too many sports, too much work, and too many distractions that can clutter this peace. If individuals in a family are allowed to spend their time as if the family had no claim on it, then there won’t be a family… only a boarding house.
God is building both a family and a Kingdom. He is building it out of us. Our human families and our spiritual families or churches are building blocks… or better yet as individuals we are the building blocks and our families and churches are the mortar that God uses to build us together into a house He says He is going to live in.
Don’t waste your time and your life building your own dynasties and empires. Let God build it. If you’ve gotten to a bad place by following your own plans, don’t make it worse by insisting that you know what’s best for your life. Stop right now and decide that you are going to turn your life and your family over to God to be rebuilt by His expert craftsmanship. It’s not too late!
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. For February, our contributor is Pastor Dave Harvey, who has served as pastor of Grand Marais Evangelical Free Church since February of 2008.
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