build my house

A new year is a year of new beginnings. New commitments. New plans. New hopes. New friends. New calendars. As we look ahead to the new year and set our course, it seems as though we are able to accomplish whatever we set our mind to, because we are independent and determined and confident Americans. But lest pride and self-confidence take the better hand in our lives, remember:

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 and go late to rest,
Eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:1-2

Apart from grace, no good thing happens--no good thing. Apart from the work of God, all our hopes and plans and dreams will be worthless.

May we not steal Your glory.

Additional reading: Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, Romans 8:31-39