3/2/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
I admit that I really like Psalm 127:2. Perhaps it is my "life verse." I don't like to wake up early. I don't like to work late. And through my life, I have dealt with enough times of hardship, of wondering whether it will be possible to provide food for my family, that I have lost a good bit of sleep.
What should we realize when we read Psalm 127? God gives sleep to his beloved children. There is no need to fear. Yes, we work, and we work very hard sometimes. And sometimes that work will prevent us from having the times of rest we normally need. I recall one time when I actually had a productive meeting with the administrator of a residential care facility at about 2:30 in the morning, after having spent much of the day watching over a relative who had been transferred to the hospital. There wasn't any too much sleep that night.
In the end, though, the Lord was caring for the situation. It was by his provision that the administrator was filling in for someone else on a night shift. It was by his provision that the facility was having a quiet night. It was by his provision that we were able to accomplish some good in a care plan not only for my relative but to look at some creative ways the facility could better care for other residents as well.
Through times of toil, through times of rest, we recognize with the Psalmist that the house is built, the city is protected, and our family and its future is secured through the Lord's work. It is not of our own doing. The Lord God, who never needs to sleep, who is always able to watch over all troubles, who is able to ward off all dangers, is the one who accomplishes his purposes.
God's purposes are good. Are we ready to rest in them?
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