Living His WordSample

When something is done “in vain,” it is done without meaningfully fulfilling the intended goal. Whatever it may be, it is a fruitless endeavor that is done without true satisfaction. You can work hard to build a house, or stay up all night to guard a city, or get up at the crack of dawn to go to work, but if it’s done in vain it really gets you nowhere. Doing something in vain is just about the last thing on earth you want to do, because the effort robs you of your strength and gifts by wasting them on misguided efforts. Our verses for today tell us that doing things apart from God’s help is a vain endeavor. Anything done apart from God, even if it looks good, is hollow and empty in reality. Further, one might add that the person who thinks they can do anything apart from God is a vain person. Vain people overestimate their gifts and abilities and waste them in vain endeavors done apart from the approval and help of God. Vain people, if they think of God at all, are far out ahead of God. Humble people, in contrast, know the futility of vanity and vain efforts. In the great scheme of things, their motto is: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). The humble make a point of being in touch with God, consulting Him, seeking His Will, and asking for His strength and ability. The humble are careful not to get out ahead of God. The life we have been given by God is too short to be wasted in the vanity of vain efforts. Consult God, and you will sleep better at night because you know God is at work for you.