Anxious

[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.
(Psalm 127:1-2, ESV)

For most of my adult life, I lived like this:

I believed that the Lord was the one who was arranging things for me, and directing my steps. I believed that I needed His strength to be able to do anything significant. I liked to get up early in the morning and I went to bed at a reasonable time at night. But it still seemed like I didn’t get very much restful sleep, and I was almost always anxious.

I was very familiar with this Psalm. I tried to apply it to my life, but with very little success.

I don’t usually like pitting one translation against another when it comes to the Bible. I know that it is difficult to translate from Hebrew and Greek into the English language, but sometimes it is just good to be able to read some verses from more than one translation. Sometimes the differences are helpful to consider.

Here is verse two in the Passion Translation:

It really is senseless to work so hard
from early morning till late at night,
toiling to make a living for fear of not having enough.
God can provide for his lovers even while they sleep!
(Psalm 127:2, TPT)

In this translation, the inclusion of “for fear of not having enough” helps me a lot. It reminds me that there is nothing wrong with working hard to make money. The stumbling block is when I am not trusting the Lord for what I need. This translation also reminds me that God is working in the background to provide for my provision. I might not even see what He is doing, but I must believe that He is providing the very best for me.