The Lord does it all. Unless the Lord builds…unless the Lord guards (Psalm 127:1 NASB).
The Lord builds me up and He guards me. He builds me from the inside out. He leads me and makes the path before me.
Sometimes I want to build my own house, to go my own way, or simply help God out a bit. I want to analyze and figure things out. I want to judge myself, see what isn’t working, make changes.
But I am nothing without my Lord. There is a way that seems right to man and the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:12). God’s way leads to life.
If I want life, then there’s only one way to go. Ironically, it’s the way of the cross. It’s a way that looks like death. It’s a way that begins by death — dying to myself. But it leads to life.
No wonder it’s a hard road to start out on. It’s a hard road to stay on. But it’s the road I want to follow all the way to the end.
I’d rather be on this road than on a road that looks like life, that embraces the world, that says I can have and do whatever I want, but leads to death. It’s a road that says there is no right and wrong, a road that promises the world.
But the world is passing away. Even scientists look at their data and say this can’t last forever. There will be an end. An end of destruction. If I labor on this temporal road, there is no life at the end. And there’s nothing I can do to change that.
And there’s nothing I can do on the road to life that will change its end. I cannot help God out. He’s already made the way. I cannot analyze and figure things out. He’s already done that and His ways are higher than mine. I’ll never, ever be able to figure Him out.
I cannot judge myself. He’s the judge. I cannot decide what’s not working and fix it. He’s led me on this road. He doesn’t make mistakes. And He makes all things beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
I think I’ll stay on the road that leads to life, not go my own way. I think I’ll leave it to God, not try to help Him out.
I’d like to see what He builds. I’d like to be guarded by Him. I’d like to see what He gives to His beloved (Psalm 127:1-2).
