This morning I spent some time in Psalm 127:1 – 2, and Psalm 130:5. Thinking through those passages led me to James 1:20 and John 15:5. Here are my thoughts.
Notice in Psalm 127:1 – 2 that the word “vain” shows up three times. The word can mean emptiness. David is reminding us that apart from the Lord anything we do is empty, nothing. It does not matter how long or how hard I work, if the Lord is not in it, it is empty, nothing.
That drove me to John 15:5 and James 1:20. John says similar things to David. If I do not abide in Christ, I can accomplish nothing. James tells me that my anger cannot accomplish the righteousness of God.
My passion, my effort, my anger, can produce zilch, zero, nada apart from Him.
Psalm 130:5 then reinforced this. David declares his habit of waiting on the Lord. That feels a whole lot like abiding to me. It is not the same word in the Septuagint, but the idea is the same. I need to wait. I need not to run ahead of God. I do.
I have a bias to action, to do, to fix, to make something happen. Produces zilch, zero, nada, apart from God. Rather than engage, I need to wait, to ask, to find out what it is God wants to do. Sure He gifted me, He has shaped my life by giving me experiences and skills, but I am His tool, this is His story, not mine. I must not run off and engage just because I can. Rather, I need to listen. I need to wait. I need to follow.
Not easy for one who has been trained to fix, to serve, to engage. But that is the only way to not only maximize His gifts in me but to avoid zilch, zero, nada.
That drove me to John 15:5 and James 1:20. John says similar things to David. If I do not abide in Christ, I can accomplish nothing. James tells me that my anger cannot accomplish the righteousness of God.
My passion, my effort, my anger, can produce zilch, zero, nada apart from Him.
Psalm 130:5 then reinforced this. David declares his habit of waiting on the Lord. That feels a whole lot like abiding to me. It is not the same word in the Septuagint, but the idea is the same. I need to wait. I need not to run ahead of God. I do.
I have a bias to action, to do, to fix, to make something happen. Produces zilch, zero, nada, apart from God. Rather than engage, I need to wait, to ask, to find out what it is God wants to do. Sure He gifted me, He has shaped my life by giving me experiences and skills, but I am His tool, this is His story, not mine. I must not run off and engage just because I can. Rather, I need to listen. I need to wait. I need to follow.
Not easy for one who has been trained to fix, to serve, to engage. But that is the only way to not only maximize His gifts in me but to avoid zilch, zero, nada.
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