Ps 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
I’ve come to a few conclusions. We can make all the plans we want to but unless GOD blesses, they are futile. Regardless of how much effort we put into anything being a success, unless God looks with favor failure is certain. We can work hard… plan diligently… dot every i… and cross every t… research every possibility and plan for every thinkable contingency, but unless GOD decides success will happen all those activities are FUTILE!
Here is what Psalm 127:1-2 sounds like in New Testament terms from 1 Corinthians 3:6-9…
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Here is the point… only what GOD wills will take place. Only what GOD blesses will succeed. Only what GOD deems to occur will happen.
And hear this clearly… success in God’s eyes is different from what humans deem a success. As it is written in 1 Corinthians 1:20…
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
If a church is “successful,” it is because GOD chose to make it such. If a business is successful, it is because GOD willed it. If any family is relatively healthy, it is because GOD made it that way. A pastor… husband… or CEO of a company can do all they want to, but unless GOD chooses to make them a success or profitable, it WILL NOT HAPPEN. And catch this… God uses the most unusual ways and people imaginable to bring about success SO THAT He gets ALL the glory!
Just a thought I had about being a success…