Press the arrow to listen to Jared Anderson sing “Beauty of the Lord”

Scripture
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17

Observation
Moses repeated his prayer twice, so it must have been one that he deeply wanted answered. Travel with nomadic slaves through the desert and backpacking God in a tent must have felt to him at times like a rope of sand. Without God establishing his work, it would soon blow away like a sand dune in the wind.

We can work hard and see hardly anything for it, unless the Lord should bless it. He can make short term efforts long lasting. Today on my Facebook I got a message from a friend with whom we worked together to plant a church in Brisbane. He and his wife found us online and managed to come to our first service 7 years ago. They soon became core team members. Daily devotions became part of their lives. But time has moved us all. Peter and Joy moved to Denver, Colorado. I’m now in Seattle. What remains? He wrote to me today:

Have been enjoying reading your journal entries on the web. I am really excited that for the first time since leaving Brisbane, WE will be part of a group of people doing this. I have wanted to see this happen for some time and would never of guessed how it would finally come to be. Short version though is our life group will base our times of teaching / sharing when we meet each weelk on what we are learning and applying from journaling from the past week. Last time we met I shared how SOAP method works and how it has made a different in my life.

When God touches our works they will outlast us. I looked up the word “favor” and found other words that describe that one Hebrew word: beauty, delightfulness, kindness as well as favor. It is as if our Father in heaven looks with pleasure at the mess we are making with finger paints and slips his brush in and creates a masterpiece.

Application
I can work hard and I can work smart but it is only what god touches that will work out. I want more than anything to have God’s hand rest on my efforts.