Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless.

Ps. 127:1  Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is useless.  Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

This verse speaks to me.  First, unless the Lord builds His church, the church is useless.  The tendency by many is to build the church around certain people, who may or may not be centered in Christ and intent on doing His will.  There is the temptation to instill our agenda in the church and lose sight completely of what the will of Christ is.  Programs, personalities, and productions, no matter how good they may seem to be, are useless unless they are centered in and directed by Christ.

Another thing that strikes me is that unless one's home is built by the Lord, the home is useless.  No eternal good will come from the home if the Lord is not in it.  Out of the home comes that which we need to face the world unscathed.  If the Lord is not in the home, there is little chance that we can survive, let alone thrive, for Christ outside the home.  There is no greater place where the soul can be nourished, encouraged, and inspired than in the home.  It is our training ground for the world.

Unless the Lord is in charge and doing the building, what we do is useless.  We can assist Him, but we can never take His place as the Lord of our living.  When the Lord is in charge, He protects our souls.  Whenever we fail to let the Lord watch over our souls and protect us, we make a mess of things.  We are not alert or sharp enough to stay out of trouble when we strive to be the watchman over our souls.  We need the Lord’s constant help and influence.

Whether it is in the church, the home, or in the world, if we try to wing it without the Lord orchestrating our lives, we labor in vain.