Psalm 127:1 (ESV)

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”

We all have certain hobbies and activities that interest us. We prioritize our time to include these pursuits. It can be easy to get caught up in what we’re doing and to lose sight of what things in life are really important.

This psalm talks about builders working on a house. Building a house takes time and requires extensive planning. This psalm tells us, though, that if the Lord doesn’t support building that house, it simply won’t come to pass. This also applies to the pursuits in our daily lives. You may not be building a house, but what do you spend most of your time doing? Is the Lord pleased with it?

We can get caught up in building the perfect career, the perfect family or the perfect body. But do you seek to glorify the Lord in these pursuits? If not, then this psalm reminds us that those pursuits will fail. You may build the perfect career, but it will not be as fulfilling as you hoped. Your family may appear perfect to everyone, but is it? Your body may be praised, but what about your soul?

The second part of this verse talks about guards watching a city. We only protect things that are precious to us, in order to preserve them. What are you watching over carefully? What do you wish to preserve in your life? If it doesn’t glorify the Lord, this verse says that it’s a worthless pursuit. Let’s look at the objects we protect and the activities in our lives to evaluate our priorities.

This week, take stock of your daily pursuits and bring them to the Lord in prayer. Eliminate the things that are vanity so that you can have more time to spend on the pursuits of the Lord. Pursuit of the Lord is never in vain.