Working In Partnership with God – Psalm 127: 1- 2
“Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 2It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep”
According to these verses, you need God to break the circle of failures, bring an end to fruitless efforts, labor and toiling. In other words, you need to work with God to move away from stagnation and move forward in life. You need to be in divine partnership with God. You need God to reverse negative trends. You cannot break curses without divine partnership. You need the push of God to move forward. The fingers of God will remove marks of failure and stagnation out of your life if you allow Him to work with you.
In these verses, God is simply making a statement. He is just providing you with valuable information. You can choose to make use of this information or ignore it. This is divine information. It is only available to a select few. You will be blessed if you process and apply it. It is divine revelation and only the chosen can appreciate it – Amos 3:7, Deuteronomy 29:29 – “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law”
Information is power. You become great if you process and apply divine information accurately. Doors are open to you seamlessly. When others are failing, you will be succeeding. Where others are suffering from famine, you will be swimming in abundance. You will suddenly discover that things become easy for you. You will begin to reap with little or no efforts. Where others are struggling, you will enjoy divine help. Great doors will suddenly open to you. You have insights to divine formula. You will suddenly become a champion for God – examples: Joseph (Gen 40:1 – 57), Daniel (Daniel 2: 14 – 49), Jacob (Gen 30:25 – 43), Isaac (Gen 26:1 – 14)
He is saying, if we work together, things will be easy for you. He is not saying you should not work, He is simply saying that He wants to work together with you. He does not want you to work alone. He wants you to succeed in your work. He wants you to do so little and get so much in return. It is not His desire to see you labor and get nothing in return. He takes care of His beloved. He does not want you to work in vain. He wants to take struggles out of your work. He does not want you to have waste your life.
God knows that when you work alone, you will become tired sooner or later. He wants to take laboring and tiredness out of your work. He wants you to enjoy what you do. The truth of the matter is that we need God to move forward in life. The Devil wants to keep us on a spot forever. Satan wants to keep you perpetually bound to him. God wants us to be free. God wants you to have dominion. God wants you to prosper. Satan wants the opposite for you. Satan wants to see you fail. He is a thief and a destroyer. God wants to bless and multiply you. He does not want you to suffer any loss. He wants you to experience fruitfulness. He wants your joy to be full.
God is simply making an offer to you. He is saying I desire to work and partner with you. If you accept the offer, you will be glad for it. You will have a lot to gain and nothing to lose if you accept the offer. However, if you refuse the offer and decide to do it on your own, you have a lot to lose. You can accept or reject the offer. It is simply your choice. You will live with the consequences of your choice –Isaiah 1:19 – 20 – If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
God wants to partner with you for mutual benefits. He wants to glorify His name through you; He wants to display His power with and through you. He wants the world to know that He is the Almighty. Although God needs us but the truth is that we need Him more than He needs us. You must remember that He is unlimited. He can do anything He wants to do. Nobody can stop Him once He makes up His mind to work with, and bless, you. You are the product of His benevolence. You are limited as a man. Your connections and influence cannot take you very far. You cannot do much for yourself. You simply need Him. The best you can do for yourself is far less than the least that God can do for you. There is a lot you cannot do for yourself. You need God to move forward. You need divine presence in your work. You can plant. You can water. You need God to enjoy increase. Increase belongs to Him. You can have this increase if you allow Him to work with you.
However, you must be the beloved of God if you want Him to work with you. As a beloved, it will be very easy for God to work with you. He can trust you. He can count on your faithfulness. He can rely on you. He can expect that you will not waste His resources. He expects that His beloved will represent Him well.
To become the beloved of God, you must be willing to obey Him without questions. You must simply be ready to do whatever He wants. You must be prepared to carry out His instructions to the letter – nothing subtracted and noting added. His desires must be your desires. As a beloved, you can no longer do whatever you like. Your life and actions must be driven by Him. He must assume a greater part of your life. You must live for Him and Him alone. You must become a living a sacrifice for Him – Romans 12:1-3 “beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
As a beloved, you must do all things to please Him. You must acknowledge Him as the Senior Partner. You must give Him free hand in the partnership. You must follow the examples of Peter in Luke 5:1 – 11. Verse 5 says “And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net” This is the secret to the Peter’s breakthrough. From that day, he never experienced failure again. He became the beloved of God. He became the property of God. He became a vessel of blessing both to God and men.
You too can become God’s property if you decide to be His beloved. He will take care of you. He will turn failures around for you. As His partner, He will abide with you and make life worth living for you. God bless.