Each new day offers a new challenge to seize each new opportunity
By Dean Collins
When we woke up this morning we were blessed with a new allotment of time. I imagine most days we don’t consider the magnitude of this gift. And if we do, it is a passing thought that suggests we put in a good day’s work or possibly take the opportunity to spend time with a loved one. Depending on your stage of life that may mean eight or 10 hours on the job with the other six or eight hours focused on family and personal care. Hopefully, as followers of Jesus, we want this fresh allotment of time to be used to extend God’s kingdom in the lives of people and places where we live, work, and have influence.
Wise King Solomon has something to say about that challenge.
An opportunity and a requirement
As we read the middle psalm of the psalms of ascent, we come across one attributed to Solomon. It opens, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” Solomon of all people had experience in building, not just a house but the house, the temple. While it was David’s desire, it was Solomon who was given the task of building the temple. The first several chapters of 1 Kings describe the beauty and magnitude of this lifetime achievement. Solomon certainly knew firsthand the truth of his psalm that faithful Jews would repeat as they made their pilgrimages to Jerusalem each year.
In 1 Kings 8, we find a beautiful blessing and dedication prayer spoken by the wise king of Israel. After offering a warning and challenge to all in Jerusalem, King Solomon offered a benediction and closing remarks to the masses that were gathered on dedication day. In what reads as part prayer and part instruction to the crowd, Solomon asks that his words stay close to the Lord and that both he and the people of Israel maintain the cause of the Lord “as each day requires.”
What an important reminder for us that the gift of each new day brings us an opportunity to join the Lord in extending his kingdom, but that’s not all. As surrendered saints, we share a requirement to stay focused on God and to invite him to do his work in and through us. Solomon’s words at the end of his prayer are a clear and powerful reminder of our opportunity and posture at the beginning of each day: “Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”
The challenge to focus on God
Unfortunately, Solomon didn’t follow his own advice from Psalm 127 or 1 Kings 8. Over his lifetime he became more and more focused on his pursuits and pleasures, which resulted in the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah. Sadly, Solomon did not enjoy the promises of his psalm of ascent. Instead of a “quiver full of blessing,” his son Rehoboam neither followed his father’s advice nor other wise counsel when he became king.
We cannot receive the blessing of Psalm 127 without allowing God to do the building in us and through us. Apart from him, what we build has little lasting value. The apostle Paul said it this way: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” When our work is for the Lord and not for self, we live a life that Jesus spoke of in his Sermon on the Mount. When we seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness over building our own kingdoms, we can rest in the wonderful provision of God and allow our anxieties to fade into the background.
Lord, forgive us for the many times we slip back into building things that center on us. We receive Psalm 127 as promises from you and choose today not to labor in vain. Today we offer our time, our work, and our relationships to you. We accept this day as a gift and choose to walk in your ways. Free us from our worry and anxiety as we do our tasks today for your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your time with God’s Word
Psalm 127:1-5; Colossians 3:23 -25; 1 Kings 8:59-61; Matthew 6:30-31, 33-34 ESV
Photo by Michelen Studios on Unsplash
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