Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless.
Devotional Text
Solomon had a vision to build the most magnificent temple in history, and his success resulted from the blessing of the Lord. First, the Lord gave Solomon wisdom to achieve his purpose (1 Kings 5:12). He showed him how to rotate his labor force in such a way that the men could be in Lebanon one month and at home for two months. Shared responsibility, as indicated by rotating the labor force, was a wise plan from God to cover responsibilities without burning out the laborers. Second, Solomon achieved success because he followed the plan of the Lord (1 Kings 6:12). You cannot hope to succeed at any work for God if you deviate from the revelation in the Bible. All work must follow the exact plan of the Church as given in the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles. Finally, Solomon succeeded because he persevered. He spent seven years building the temple (1 Kings 6:38), never wavering from his goal. Never give up when God is “building” with you. Though it may seem your work is moving at a crawl, keep doing what you know to do. Purpose, plan, and persevere, and the Lord will build your house!