A Painful, But Beautiful Reminder

“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.
It is in vain that you rise up early
    & go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
    for He gives to His beloved sleep.”

(Psalm 127:1-2) (emphasis mine)

It’s beautiful because God’s got it all under control… It’s painful because we do not.

I Don’t Run Things, No Matter How Hard I Try

I can try to be good.

I can try to do good things.

But God is in control, not me.

If I rely on myself, I get nowhere.

Even if I seem to go somewhere, it yields little results.

Or sometimes my actions create the wrong results, causing the problem to either worsen or to be off in another wrong direction.

Letting God Be God

The watchman watches over a city in vain if God is not also watching out for it, because power comes from God, not the watchman or even the soldiers or the king.

I write my blog in vain if I don’t let God guide me.

I cannot force inspiration. If He erases ideas, I cannot will them to reappear. He has power even there.

Compared to Him…

I am so small compared to His greatness.

I am so foolish compared to His wisdom.

I can fight all day & talk all night, trying to be a light for God, but unless He works, I work in vain.

He is the source. He is love. He is power. He is grace.

Doing It My Way Didn’t Work

I spent all day writing & erasing this blog today.

Nothing seemed right.

I felt hopeless & tired exhausting every effort to make something out of nothing & I could not.

If God shuts a door, I canNOT open it.

He Allows, But He Has the Power to End It

It is true that He allows me to conjecture & speak in my limited level of human understanding, possibly getting so much wrong, or at least not completely right. He doesn’t prohibit the freedom of speech. You can see as much when people speak completely against His character, in hatred & lies & causing pain to others.

But if God shuts my mind or my mouth, I canNOT overcome Him.

He is GOD.

It’s Okay, We Know What to Do Here… Or Not?

So often, we try so hard to be “good people” or “good Christians” but so much of it is in vain because it is not submitted to the Almighty God.

We can believe we are completely right, with no doubt & with all passion & fervor… We can THINK our understanding is true with every fiber of our being.

But God doesn’t have to rely on thinking He knows… He DOES know… Everything.

Let Him Be God

Cling to Him. Even when everything swirls around you. Even when you try so hard to do a good thing, with zero results… cling to Him.

The unknown is at the base of almost every fear known to man. We like to feel like we have a good handle on things, & when we don’t feel that way, everything seems uncertain & dark & spinning out of control.

But God is a constant. He doesn’t get thrown off balance. He isn’t surprised. He isn’t caught off guard. EVER.

God Is Self-Sufficient, But He Chooses to Let Us Work Beside Him

In reality, God doesn’t need us to do anything for His work to be accomplished.

We may think, ‘I HAVE to share this because people need it!’

But God doesn’t need our help. He is sufficient. Completely sufficient.

God Almighty, Creator, Redeemer, & Friend

God created everything.

He sent Jesus to pay our debt for us, on the cross, for our wrongs against Him.

He. Is. Sufficient. In every possible way, God is sufficient.

A Sidekick to God, Who Is The True Hero

And that’s the beautiful thing about living for Him.

Even in our mistakes, inadequacies, failures, rebellion, insecurities, etc., God cannot be thwarted. God cannot be diminished. God cannot lose.

His will WILL be done.

He WILL get the glory.

Even those who lash out openly against God, thinking they know more than Him or thinking they have it all figured out… They are just providing another opportunity for God to show just how little we know in light of how vast & mighty He is!

But, He chooses to let us work beside Him. He loves us & wants us to find joy in His work by participating in it.

Not because He needs us, but because He wants us.

Change of Plans… Letting God Build

I am humbled today, as this was not my intended message for the week.

I wanted to flounce in here full of confidence & knock this out in a few hours.

But God wasn’t building with me, so I built in vain (aka wrote, erased, & re-wrote, & re-erased all day!)

He wanted me to have opportunity to stop & remember that it’s NOT about my wisdom or about people NEEDING to hear MY message.

It’s about taking His hand & walking alongside Him in HIS plan.

Unless the Lord builds it, I build in vain.

What About You?

What area of your life are you trying to fly it solo, even in the name of doing it FOR GOD?

What are you trying to do on auto-pilot or in your own wisdom or strength?

Take a minute to humbly lay that before God & ask Him to guide you in His plan over your own.

Let Him do the building. Let Him show you where He is building & ask where you can join in.

Let Him do the watching. Ask Him to look out for you & to teach you how to trust His protection & plan over your own.

He is able. He is oh so able.

God is sufficient for you, Darling One. Trust Him.

Coming Next

Check out our Monthly Special Feature post (every last Thursday of the month), THIS Thursday! See you then!

A Note from Michelle:

If you would like to hear more of my story, check out the “About Me” page. And if you would like to hear how I found my lasting source of HOPE, read the “Hope Is Found” page, on this site. I hope they are an encouragement to you! <3

Also, make sure to “Join My Tribe” by adding your email to the top bar & clicking “Join My Tribe”. This gains you access to an extra weekly dose of encouragement from me in your inbox, along with the link to each week’s new post! I can’t wait to do this journey together!!

Weekly Special Spotlight:

Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Check out this week’s featured beauty!!

Nyla Set

As Nyla means “dark royal blue”, this necklace & bracelet set features royal blue glass beads on rose gold mixed metal chains.

Artisan Information:

The poverty cycle in India continues primarily because of the lack of education. Most schools are not free or affordable. Therefore, many children never learn to read or write & grow up with limited opportunities. However, every purchase of this product empowers women to provide for their children & send them to school! You have the opportunity to end poverty &create an impact for generations to come!

Purchase this piece & empower a woman in India!

(*Also pictured: Northern Lights Studs from India!)

Shop Here, OR, Email me at michelle@michellehydeonline.com with any questions, & I will message you personally with more information!! Thank you for inspiring HOPE around the world, Lovely!