Psalm 127:2 almost seems fatalistic: “It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” Some may wrongly think that this verse implies that it is “vain” to work long hard hours, because God will bless the one He is going to bless even while he is NOT working – even in his sleep – so why bother to work hard; it’s all up to God anyway?!

But that is not what this verse (and the balance of scripture) teaches. Rather it is a word to those among us who tend to “stress” over things, thinking that it all depends on them. God says here, don’t rob yourself of sleep; don’t “overdo” it, “eating the bread of painful labors”, thinking it all depends on you; it doesn’t. God is going to bless what He has ordained. He gives rest and “sleep” to those who love Him, and who are following His plan.

Verse 1 tells us that “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” In other words, it is GOD who is the “Difference Maker”, not YOU! This verse is meant to be a burden reliever. It does NOT “all depend upon you.” Rest in that. Do what you are supposed to do, and God will both give you the rest you need, and bless your efforts to accomplish everything He has purposed.

So this verse is NOT teaching that working hard is “vain.” Rather the lesson is first of all to be sure that what you are doing is something that God has purposed, and not just something you’ve taken upon yourself, because God won’t bless that (:1); and secondly, don’t stress yourself worrying that everything depends on you; it doesn’t. Do you work, and entrust it in God, who will perform through your labors exactly what He intends to accomplish. Far from being “fatalistic”, this verse teaches a healthy, balanced mix of both the responsibility of man to work, and the sovereignty of God to bless. Psalm 127 does NOT teach that you don’t have to work hard; it DOES teach you not to kill yourself stressing over things. It doesn’t all depend on you!