Psalm 127:1-2 ’Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It 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.’
DAILY READING – • Matthew 8:14-34; Leviticus 1-2; Proverbs 19
Strive Masiyiwa, the founder of Econet Wireless is the richest man in Zimbabwe. He is also recognized as one of Africa’s foremost billionaire philanthropists. He has steadily used his personal family fortune to support and educate more than 40,000 orphans. Today he is very vocal about his Christian faith and says he is totally dependent upon God. However, years ago when he first started his business that was not the case. At that time he had thought he could make it by his own strength and wisdom. But one day he learned a crucial lesson that made him realise he couldn’t go far without God.
In 1990, he began a small electrical contracting business with $75. And in just four short years after he had a burgeoning multimillion dollar, national business with almost 500 employees. With his outstanding success he had been named both Business Man of the Year and Industrialist of the Year. The future looked indeed very bright. One morning he visited the Mozambique embassy in Zimbabwe to discuss business. When he left the Mozambique Embassy Building, he decided to walk back to his office, which was nearby, rather than be driven. As he walked, being deep in thought, he paid no attention to a car driving slowly behind him. When he finally got into his office, two men rushed behind him, and abducted him at gun point! He was taken to a secret detention centre by his abductors. As he was in the place where he was being held, while his abductors were outside, he did something he had not done since he was a child, he got on his knees and prayed earnestly to God, with tears in his eyes begging God to rescue me. And God heard him. In what could only be termed as divine intervention, he was miraculously rescued from his ordeal that night! He had come very remarkably close to losing his life. And from then on, he learnt the most important lesson of his life; that without God he couldn’t go far in life. He would later dedicate his life and business to serving God who has preserved his life.
Psalm 127:1-3 says ‘except The Lord builds the house they labour in vain that build it. And except the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen watch but in vain.’
Indeed except The Lord builds the house every man’s labour is in vain. It is the hand of God that makes the difference, not just our hard work. It is the blessings of The Lord that makes rich and adds no sorrow to it. Riches outside of God come with sorrow, but His blessings are sorrow free. Just like Masiyiwa almost lost his life except for divine intervention, a man could spend years working hard and amassing wealth, only to suddenly lose his life. Thus the Bible’s question; what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
We must seek God and His kngdom first, so that all else can be added unto us. True promotion and upliftmnt comes from God alone.
Psalms 75:6- 7 says “ For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another”.
Indeed when God lifts you up no man can bring you down. When God opens a door before you no man can shut it. Indeed we need to be totally dependent on God if we want to go far in life. Without Jesus we can do nothing. But through Him we can do all things. Our physical demonstration of love for God is our dependence on Him. When God takes over your battles, you can be sure of victory everytime, but if you choose to fight for yourself, then defeat is inevitable.
1 Samuel 2:9 says ‘By strength shall no man prevail’.
it is the blessing of the Lord, not ‘the sweat or struggles of man’ that makes rich.. Total dependence on God means we are constantly seeking His counsel and guidance every step we take. It means we do not walk by sight, but rather by faith. God knows the end from the beginning. We therefore need to seek His divine counsel in all that we do. We need His help, we need His guidance at all times. We must realise that life is futile without God on our side. A man could spend his entire life pursuing wealth and then loose it all in one instance. We should place our priorities right. When we seek God and His kingdom first, then other things including, wealth are added to us. Without the hand of God, hard work alone, never makes a high flyer. There is place for hardwork and diligence, but ultimately it is the blessings of God that makes the huge difference.
PRAYER: Father please help me to always make You top priority in my life. Please grant me the grace to be always totally dependent on you. Indeed as I seek You first, I know that all things are being added unto me in Jesus, Name.
Quote :
The treasures of God are never on the shallow end, but are always buried in the depth of God’s Word. It takes a personal discovery to get there. – WORDBITE 222.