This is a Psalm actually attributed to Solomon, and is known as one of the ascent psalms. These psalms were written as liturgy to be used by pilgrims as they travel to Jerusalem to worship. It is a psalm that picks up on a similar concept to the one written about last Thursday, that of dependence on God in the basic areas of our human life. It is a short psalm where the first two verses speak of the endeavours or work of life, and the last three verses speak to the family. The second part of verse two which isn't recorded above, reads, "He gives his beloved sleep" – a beautiful line that many of us need to hang on to in challenging times!
But our verse this morning speaks about the fact that hard work alone is not the secret to success. This flies in the face of so much we have been taught as we grow up and live in the society we do. There is a belief that hard work will reap results regardless… with hard work one can do anything. And there is certainly nothing wrong with hard work – in fact the Bible encourages it and tells us that in all our work we should be working as though we are working directly for God, so that he will be glorified in us.
The problem comes in when we rely entirely on ourselves and on our ability to create success, wealth or safety apart from God. While this psalm speaks about work and family, both involve a mysterious uncertainty – both are indeed human endeavours but human action is not the only determining factor. Work does not always produce fruit. Marriage does not always produce children. And so these verses are grounded in the idea that God is the ultimate deciding factor in all of life.
And so working and worrying as though the burden is all on you is fruitless. Work needs to be an outworking of trust, rather than a source of anxiety or arrogance depending on which side you feel you are on. The call of this verse then is to commit your way to the Lord, to seek his will and purposes in the work you do and trust the results to him.
The beautiful promise in all this is unlike the defeatist or fatalistic claim of "It is the will of Allah"… the implication being that it cannot be changed, we can go to God with our worries and anxieties from the work place. We can take situations where it feels like the labour is in vain and seek his counsel and his blessing. That is the beauty of our relationship with a Father who loves us, and longs to be involved in all aspects of our lives.
I pray that as you go into your Tuesday, into whatever work or task you find yourself faced with, that you will see it as a gift and opportunity from God – and commit it entirely to him.
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