Time flies and now it is almost the end of the first month of 2013. Everyone is back from their holiday, and back to their routine work, then day by day without we realise we will pass another month, and soon another year will go by. What are we going to do in those days? in the days ahead? We probably have made a new year’s resolution, but then along the time, we hardly remember it any more. It will just be “another day” for us. We work hard, toiling, without realising what is it for? do they have any meaning at all? or is it just “busy-ness” in our life? When we go to such routine, we tends to use our strength and sooner we find ourselves drifting to what we have aim at the start of the year: our commitment to serve Him more, or to spend more time with Him through our devotion time. We might still do bible reading everyday, but that’s like you turn on your tv, while you talk with your friend/guest - you scheme through, or you read but you don't really seek it. Why? because your mind is somewhere else. Our life tends to drift to think something else other than God is more reliable either we realise it or not.
In other translation the verse above could be translated as “... for while they sleep He provides for those He loves.” Have you ever wonder why God gives us sleep? In the Bible, sleep is both a metaphor and indicator of “faith”. When is the time we are most vulnerable in our life? It is when we sleep! When we sleep, it is also a time when we are least productive. In Psalm 3, David lay down and slept when he got many foes: He was surrounded by many foes when he took his flight from Absalom. David slept - he took a rest and leave everything to God. He could do that because he trust that God is his shield, and God is the one that bestow glory to him. Psalm 127 above tells us also that it is a vain, when we do all the things by sheer human effort, if God is not there - if God is not the one that builds. The verse 1 saying that “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” The LORD gives sleep (faith) to the one tempted to build or to work by sheer human effort. We sometimes tempted to believed that the work we do when we're awake is more important than the work God does while we sleep - and so we work till late, and when we do finally go to bed exhausted, we can’t get a nice sleep, instead we toss and turn worried about things that didn’t get done, we go through all the checklist that still there, adjusting our agendas, vowing to make it better, and fretting over how to have a secure income and protecting ourselves from harm. But the faithful sleep soundly, confident to the One that never sleeps, confident that God is the one building the house, watch over and guard their home when we are vulnerable and less productive. It is a step of faith trusting God fully in our lives.
On the other hand, it does not mean that we become lazy and sleep the whole day without doing hard work. Psalm 127:1 does not stop at “Unless the LORD builds the house”. The sentence continue with “its builders labor in vain”. It still requires us to work, it still requires us to build and to watch - doing our best. We have to work and do it faithfully. When we have this in mind, all the things we do, will not be another routine. We work hard faithfully knowing that God is in control, and so we don’t get too much over it and consumes all of our mind and make God be the TV that sounds at the background. God must be the center of our lives, and all the things we do, we do it for Him and not for us, and so we can trust Him fully.
To close, I would like to quote from Victor Hugo an author of the famous story “Les Miserables”.
“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for he grants sleep to[a] those he loves.” (Psalm 127:2)
In other translation the verse above could be translated as “... for while they sleep He provides for those He loves.” Have you ever wonder why God gives us sleep? In the Bible, sleep is both a metaphor and indicator of “faith”. When is the time we are most vulnerable in our life? It is when we sleep! When we sleep, it is also a time when we are least productive. In Psalm 3, David lay down and slept when he got many foes: He was surrounded by many foes when he took his flight from Absalom. David slept - he took a rest and leave everything to God. He could do that because he trust that God is his shield, and God is the one that bestow glory to him. Psalm 127 above tells us also that it is a vain, when we do all the things by sheer human effort, if God is not there - if God is not the one that builds. The verse 1 saying that “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” The LORD gives sleep (faith) to the one tempted to build or to work by sheer human effort. We sometimes tempted to believed that the work we do when we're awake is more important than the work God does while we sleep - and so we work till late, and when we do finally go to bed exhausted, we can’t get a nice sleep, instead we toss and turn worried about things that didn’t get done, we go through all the checklist that still there, adjusting our agendas, vowing to make it better, and fretting over how to have a secure income and protecting ourselves from harm. But the faithful sleep soundly, confident to the One that never sleeps, confident that God is the one building the house, watch over and guard their home when we are vulnerable and less productive. It is a step of faith trusting God fully in our lives.
On the other hand, it does not mean that we become lazy and sleep the whole day without doing hard work. Psalm 127:1 does not stop at “Unless the LORD builds the house”. The sentence continue with “its builders labor in vain”. It still requires us to work, it still requires us to build and to watch - doing our best. We have to work and do it faithfully. When we have this in mind, all the things we do, will not be another routine. We work hard faithfully knowing that God is in control, and so we don’t get too much over it and consumes all of our mind and make God be the TV that sounds at the background. God must be the center of our lives, and all the things we do, we do it for Him and not for us, and so we can trust Him fully.
To close, I would like to quote from Victor Hugo an author of the famous story “Les Miserables”.
"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones. And when you have laboriously accomplised your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake." (Victor Hugo, 1802-1885)”
When it is time to work, let’s work hard. But at the end, let’s pause and reflect. ...Go to sleep for God is awake. Have faith through everything that we do, as what Hebrews 11:6 said “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”.
Let this short sharing be a reminder for me and to you all to continue our journey in this year ahead
~Paul Hartono
~Paul Hartono
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