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Don’t Labor In Vain

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. - Psalm 127:1 (NIV)

Have you ever set a plan in motion then had to change it midstream? Or how about a plan that was nicely laid out but you never got the chance to implement? It’s been said that if you want to make God laugh tell him your plans.

Now, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan. In fact Jesus said in Luke 14:28, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?” Counting the cost to see that you have enough resource is a form of planning. But planning doesn’t mean there won’t be cost overruns, unexpected delays, labor complications, etc., etc., etc. And knowing you have enough to start doesn’t guarantee that you’ll finish. You can’t put your trust in an end result. To do that is to labor in vain. If your work is about accomplishing a personal goal, building up your accounts, attaining a certain position then you need to hear these words from Psalm 94:11, ‘The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.’

However, as Paul writes in Colossians 3:23-24, ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.’ Plans are not meant to be set in stone. They are not meant to be the foundation of our joy or satisfaction. Plans can be a useful tool as long as you trust the Lord to have a plan that you can’t know and be willing to go where he sends you…even if that takes you off course from the plans you have made. Otherwise you’re just laboring in vain.

Prayer
Dear Lord, I want to live in the center of your will. Keep me from taking my plans so seriously that I don’t hear your voice when you call me to go in a different direction. May all my plans be made from a desire that your will be done. Amen.