“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.”—Psalm 127:1-2.

This psalm is attributed to Solomon, the king who was granted great wisdom from God, but did not always apply God’s wisdom to his life. Here Solomon rightly teaches that only what is done through the Lord will stand the test of time. Everything else is done in vain.

Solomon paints a picture of someone striving to make it on their own, without including God in their plans. Sadly, this describes far too many people today. Their answer to the problems of life is to double down on what they are already doing wrong. They roll up their sleeves and work even harder at what they have already made a mess of—a life without God.

Contrast that philosophy with the last part of v.2, “…for he grants sleep to those he loves.” Those who live for the Lord can lay their heads down on their pillow at night and rest easily, knowing that they have spent their day doing the will of God. Picture Jesus asleep in the boat while his disciples are frantic in the face of a storm that threatens to take their lives. Complete trust in God allows you to rest, even in the face of life’s fiercest storms.

This doesn’t mean that there is no need to labor if you trust in the Lord. No, the Bible is filled with exhortations to work to provide ourselves and our families with the necessities of life and to have something to give to the poor. Trusting God doesn’t mean a life of ease, but a life that is much easier than if you tried to do it on your own. If God doesn’t build it, it’s all in vain.

This is a principle that Jesus expounds on in his teachings. The Sermon on the Mount concludes with the parable of the two builders. The wise man built his house upon the rock, while the foolish man built his house on the sand. When a storm inevitably came, the wise man’s house stood firm, while the foolish man’s house was destroyed. What is the difference between a wise person and a foolish person? Jesus says that the wise person is one who “…hears these words of mine and puts them into practice…” (Matt.7:24). We must heed the words of Jesus and apply them to our lives. We must carefully read his words and obey them if we want to withstand the storms of life.

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. This biblical principle can be applied to the building of a nation. It is common knowledge that nearly all the leaders of the American revolution were men of faith. Psalm 127 is thought to be especially important to George Washington.

This principle can be applied to building a strong family. Unless the Lord builds it, no family will ever be what it was meant to be. It is critical for households to study and apply the word of God to their lives.

It should be obvious, but perhaps it needs to be stated, this principle must be applied to the building of a church. It is entirely possible for a congregation to stray far from God’s will because they have strayed far from God’s word. The result, of course, would be disastrous.

I hope that you, your family and your church are building something that will last, not only through this life, but through all eternity.