Readings for today: 2 Samuel 7, 1 Chronicles 17, Psalms 1-2, 33, 127, 132
“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.” (Psalms 127:1)
One of the things I struggle with the most is my desire to be successful. To make my life count. To do something significant. To strive to be the best. These are values ingrained in me from an early age. They are not necessarily bad in and of themselves. The problem is I too often let these good things become ultimate things in my life. I start to pursue success at the expense of my relationship with God or those I love. I focus on the future rather than finding contentment in the present. I covet what I don’t have rather than be thankful for what I do have. I know I’m not alone. I see these values reflected across all sectors of society.
A few years ago now, the Lord spoke to me during a time of prayer. It wasn’t an audible voice or a lightning bolt from heaven or anything like that. It was simply an impression in my heart. A feeling in my gut. A few random thoughts in my head that suddenly coalesced into a message I needed to hear. It was a short message. Three simple words. Obscurity. Anonymity. Insignificance. I was journaling and these three words started ringing over and over again in my head. Obscurity. Anonymity. Insignificance. Over the years I’ve learned to pay attention to these kinds of things in my prayer time so I sat back from my keyboard and asked the Lord to give me further insight into what He was saying. God said, “I want you to labor in obscurity. Embrace anonymity. Pursue insignificance.” To be honest, my first thought was, “Wait a minute! That doesn’t sound right! Frankly, it sounds unAmerican!” God’s answer? “Exactly.” :-)
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” King David has a desire to build God a house. It’s a godly desire. A good desire. One that is affirmed by Nathan the prophet. But it is not the Lord’s will. “But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, "Go and tell my servant David, 'Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in?...'Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:4-5, 8-13) I love how God flips the tables on David here. It is not David who will build God a house but God who will build David a house! It is not David who will make His own name great but God who will make David’s name great!
Unless God builds the house. Unless God builds David’s house. Unless God builds our house. We all labor in vain. This was the message God was sending me during my devotional time. I was spending so much energy working so hard to be successful. To stand out among my peers. To be faithful to God. And yet all the while God was calling me to rest. To trust. To stand back and let Him do the “building” of my life. Let Him guide and direct my path. Let Him have the glory for the success I was seeking to achieve.
Recently, I’ve been learning more about the meaning of those three, God-given words in my life…
Obscurity - Over the years, I’ve been asked to consider many different ministry positions. Some at much larger churches. Some involve greater denominational influence. But I love where I am. I love the people I serve. I love the team I get to serve alongside. We are not the largest or fastest growing or most “successful” church but we are a family. We serve God faithfully. We are producing gospel-fruit on a regular basis. Lives are being changed. People are being transformed. And God has confirmed my current call over and over again.
Anonymity - One of the best things about serving at PEPC is I get to simply be “one of the pastors.” We have a great team, each with different gifts. This releases me from the pressure to perform. To succceed. To self-promote. No one needs to know my name. This work isn’t about me. I love the fact that I don’t always have to be up front. Don’t always have to preach. Don’t always have to be in charge. And I can’t wait to finish my career as part of the volunteer cleaning crew!
Insignificance - My work around the globe is humbling. It makes me deeply aware of how truly insignificant my contributions to the Kingdom of God are in the grand scheme of things. The reality is I will be completely forgotten within a generation or so of my death. My own family won’t remember who I was or what I did. All my accomplishments and achievements will quickly turn to dust. And that’s okay. Because my significance is not found in what I do but in who God is and I am content simply to serve Him in whatever way He sees fit.
Friends, unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord builds your house and my house, our labors are in vain. Unless the Lord builds our nation’s house, our collective labor will be in vain. As we continue to struggle through this season of social distancing and stay at home orders, the pressure builds inside all of us to get to work “building our own house.” Protecting our own future. Securing our own lives. Don’t fall prey to that temptation! Take a step back and let God do the work. Engage in some self-examination to find those areas of your life where you need to hand over the tools, stop working so hard, and let God take over. Make sure you are working from His blueprint in your life rather than your own.
Readings for tomorrow: 2 Samuel 8-9, 1 Chronicles 18