Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

S Psalm 127

A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth.

5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

O-This Psalm by Solomon is a good reminder of a true principal, namely that unless the house is built by the Lord it will not stand. Many attempt to build their own kingdoms without the Lord, but they are building these castles on the sand and they have moments of victory followed by the inevitable collapse due to a soft foundation. The second part of this song is a reminder of the gift of children, That we are to see them as the Lord's gift to us for us to steward well and prepare for the service of God. None of this is to say that we should all build churches and all become pastors, but rather we are all children of God and we  serve  his kingdom through our lives. Our children are to grow into God loving God and serving servants you go forth and continue the work of God even after us.

A-The application for me is to be thankful for the house that the Lord has built for me, and thankful for his grace when I begin to add additions that weren't from him. In looking back I see what is from the Lord and what is from my flesh. The things that were from me have died off and faded away and the things that were from the Lord have endured and were built on to produce where the Lord has me and what he is having me do. The application then becomes to recognize what the Lord has been doing, Do you evaluate what is from him and build upon that, and to temper my own good thoughts and ideas with is this from the Lord or is this for me. The very recent example that Abby and I discussed was our children's education and how thankful we are that the Lord cares about our kids and has provided exactly the education and experiences that they need to grow to be children who are after his heart and serving his people. As we begin to think of the future about colleges and what not how do you reminded me once again it's good to think about that, but we must not forget to put that decision before the Lord.

P- Dear heavenly father I thank you so much for your pursuing me in my journey that you've given me here on earth. Because I am not any better than those who come before me and I wander,  I thank you for both your grace and your provision that despite the things that were nor from you , you've allowed them to die way, and ensured the  build up the things that are from you. I pray that you would just help me to recognize those situations earlier and that through your Holy Spirit you would guide me and give me ears to hear and hands to serve this I pray in Jesus Christ name, amen.