Readings for today: 2 Samuel 6-8, Luke 19:11-27
“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 values were 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 find contentment in the present. I covet what I don’t have rather than be thankful for what I do have.
Several years ago, 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! That’s not who I am! Frankly, it sounds unAmerican!” God’s answer? “Exactly.” :-)
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” King David had a desire to build God a house. It was a godly desire. A good desire. One affirmed by Nathan the prophet. But it was 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 hard to be successful. To stand out among my peers. To be faithful to God. And 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.
Since that time, I’ve continued to learn. Continued to grow. Continued to grasp on ever-deepening levels the meaning of those God-given words for my life.
Obscurity - I labor in a small town overshadowed by a big city. I work in a church on the eastern edge of that town off the beaten track. The church I serve is growing but we’ll never top the Outreach 100 list. We’re making an impact locally and globally but no one will ever write us up in the history books. We’re just an ordinary group of people seeking to serve God and love each other well.
Anonymity - I am released from the pressure to perform. To succceed. To self-promote. No one knows 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. I am simply one of God’s many servants at my church.
Insignificance - I am 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.
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Where do you need to step back and let God build in your life? In what areas do you need to hand over the tools, stop working so hard, and let God take over? Whose blueprint are you operating from? Yours or God’s?
Readings for tomorrow: 2 Samuel 9-11, Luke 19:28-48