Every once in a while when I’m praying, the Spirit leads me to take something I’ve prayed about and to share it. I don’t know who is going to read these words. No clue who God is telling me to make this post for. Frankly, it’s not any of my business. God’s word in 1 Samuel 15:22 says “to obey is better than sacrifice.” So here I am obeying.
This morning I prayed several verses:
Psalm 33:4 “For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.”
Numbers 23:19 “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
Psalm 127:1-2 “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain…2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”
Matthew 6:31-33 “31Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Today, what these verses all had in common for me and what I was prompted to share is this: as believers, children of God, those washed and cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus, we exist in this world to make a difference for him. We are his kingdom stewards. As Dr. Tony Evans says we are to use the time, talents and treasures he blesses us with to honor him and to do his kingdom’s work on earth.
I was reminded that I labor to build in vain if and when I forget that it is God who builds the house. NOT me.
I’m kicking off my career as an indie writer and publisher with a new romance series, The Grande Pearl. These last few months I have been absorbing everything I can—reading books and articles, listening to podcasts and taking classes—about what it takes to be a successful indie writer and publisher.
All practical and helpful advice I can apply to my journey to give it the best chance at succeeding. However, I’ve been so overwhelmed by how much it takes to make this happen that I’ve been working before the sun comes up and then back at it again in the evenings after my day work. I would get up at 5am and not go to sleep until 1am or 2am. Driving myself to the point where I was getting physically sick, not to mention mentally and emotionally. It’s the “anxious toil” spoken of in Psalm 127.
Yes, I am supposed to work diligently. But I’m not supposed to work in panic mode, fretting and worrying about all the things that can go wrong. Stressing that the work I’m doing will never be successful. Forgetting to put God and his kingdom first. And not making time to nurture the relationships and the people that God’s put in my life.
That kind of work means I’ve forgotten who is in charge. I’ve forgotten who is the true builder. It means I’m thinking that things fail or succeed by my own feeble efforts. They don’t. Because I was thinking they do, I haven’t been getting the rest God promises to his beloved. The physical and mental rest that happens when you body gets the proper amount of good sleep. I haven’t been able to shut my brain off with the worries of everything *I* need to do.
These last few weeks God has been moving in me to repent of my sin of fear, anxiety, worry that all stem from not trusting him as the builder. That are the result of me falsely believing (though not by words, but definitely by action) I sit on the throne of my life instead of God. That I lead me. I don’t, thankfully.
Today, the reminder to me and the reminder that God wanted me to share with you is that he will honor his word to give us rest if we will remember that he alone is the builder. He will honor our labor if we work trusting that it’s not us who determine what succeeds and what doesn’t. We need to work believing that he will move things according to his will and that his will is actually best. He sees our entire future, not just the slice of today that we do. More importantly, he directs our future. Just like he did our past and he does our present.
He will honor his word to us to build the house he knows we need if we will seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.
My prayer for you, my fellow writers, my fellow builders who are right now laboring in vain, is to ask God to help you let him be God.
M. Michelle Derosier 