Trust God enough to rest
“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-- for he grants sleep to those he loves.” (Psalm 127:2 NIV)
I had been working so hard, staying up all night, sleeping only a few hours, getting back up, and repeating the same thing daily. I thought I was doing a good thing by being diligent, dedicated, and determined. I continued this cycle until the day Psalm 127:2—our featured Bible verse—hit me hard.
I paused and stared at the words in that verse, and I just knew right away that they were for me. God was telling me, I needed to stop that unhealthy cycle of all work and no rest. Then, I read Psalm 127:1, which says, “Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
Sentries are soldiers that stand guard and keep watch over a place to protect it from invasion and disaster. Somewhere along the way, I started thinking that it was my duty to stand guard around the clock, and make sure everything went smoothly. Furthermore, I mistakenly assumed that my effort would build the vision, and create the desired outcome. How wrong I was!
“God neither slumbers nor sleeps. And since He’s already up working around the clock, why should you be? Rest in the Lord.”
I had gotten so off track because I was placing too much confidence in myself and not enough trust in the Lord. Perhaps, you are overworking yourself, worrying too much, trying to figure it all out, and putting far too much weight on your shoulders.
If so, God doesn’t want you trying to carry that load all by yourself. He wants you to rest in Him and trust Him to build, stand guard, and make things happen. That doesn’t mean you should sit back and do nothing. After all, faith and works go together. Just stay in balance.
Psalm 121:4 tells us that God neither slumbers nor sleeps. And since He’s already up working around the clock, why should you be? Rest in the Lord— naturally and spiritually. By doing so, your actions say, God I know You will take care of things.
The more you surrender and let Him take over, you will find that He does all things well, and He never needed your around-the-clock efforts in the first place. Move out of the way, so God can have His way.
Now, let’s pray.
God, there have been times when I relied on my own strength instead of trusting You, and I put unnecessary weight on my shoulders. Please help me to rest in You and depend on You more, because I know You will always take care of me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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