Day 5: In peace I will lie down and sleep
Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us. Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:6-8).
Almighty God and Father, Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all (1 Chronicles 29:12).
Lord God, work is a gift from Your hands—given to humans before sin entered the world: The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (Genesis 2:15). But because sin entered the world, many different elements of work have become skewed, and tainted, and corrupted.
In a million ways sin reshapes work into things other than what You intended—a fusion with our identity and our self-esteem; an escape from the painful realities of life; a means to feed native human greed; an abandonment to the insatiable desire to control, consume, acquire, and hoard; a temptation to worship created things rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25)...
Yet Your word warns us against the imbalanced anxious striving that leaves us depleted and unfulfilled:
What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless (Ecclesiastes 2:22-23).
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for He grants sleep to those He loves (Psalm 127:2).
We are grateful to You Lord, for the gift of work, and for all the benefits it provides. Help us to accept it with gratitude, honoring the instruction You gave us, Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people (Colossians 3:23 - ISV).
Keep us from the restless pursuit of worldly wealth that robs us of joy and rest. Teach us a good, godly, balanced perspective, remembering Your instruction to seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Help us to esteem the light of Your face above all earthly success.
Thank You, Lord, for Your daily provision. And thank You for the bonus gifts of joy, and sweet, safe, and peaceful sleep.
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