Vineyard Church | Weekly Update December 11th, 2024

6+1 6+1 rhythm adam greenwell advent balance billings churches billings vineyard church his plans loved ones our plans peace psalm 127 psalm 127:1-2 rest and work restoration solomon vineyard vineyard church vineyard usa vineyard values work Dec 11, 2024

Maybe the Lord is speaking to me… Three conversations over the past four days have included the person I am talking to referring to the same verse in one of the Psalms. Because, as a former facilities guy to remain nameless often points out that I can be as sharp as a beachball, I failed to see what was in front of me until I had stared at this computer screen for a loooong time.

How do I write a blog about peace, but also incorporate our focus on the 6+1 sabbatical rhythm that has overtaken our blogosphere for the past few months? After a frustratingly long period of writer’s block, I had a moment of face-palming splendor when I realized that I had the answer spoken to me for days. Check out this Psalm written by Solomon:

1 Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. 2 It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones. Psalm 127:1-2 (NLT)

Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. We can come at this verse from the angle of work AND the angle from rest. From the work angle, consider all of the time, energy, and treasure wasted on efforts that are not inspired by the unfolding plan of God. So much energy injected into plans and ambitions reflects selfish pursuits of competitive survival, an investment that never sees a return… But God gives rest to his loved ones.

Rest, and with it peace, emanates from submission to the will of God, to the reality that this is His world and His plans rule. Striving changes from striving for self to striving with God coupled with the knowledge that He is faithful to His plan is the restful peace that comes when we know our efforts will lead to victory.

A part of the sabbatical practice of self-evaluation is to discern what house we are building and who drew up the plans for the project. Restoration on the day of rest includes a re-centering on the plans of God and the sacrificial laying down of plans of our own. God gives us this rest as our faith acknowledges His sovereignty and his faithfulness to His unfolding plan of reconciling creation. Giving up our plans and taking on his can be one of the most difficult sacrifices in the relational pursuit of following Jesus, but this difficulty is rewarded in knowing that the work we put in, the time, energy, and treasure we invest, will be purposeful in fulfilling the only plan that can ever succeed. Peace through assured victory, rest in perfect submission.

Adam Greenwell
Pastor
Billings Vineyard Church | www.billingsvineyard.org

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