"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).
Here, in miniature, is the message of Ecclesiastes. Without the Lord, life in this world is full of emptiness and anxiety. Even if a man builds an impressive house, he does not know if he will live in it tomorrow or if it will be inhabited by another man. Even is a city grows strong and prosperous, many sudden troubles can befall it—war, disease, disaster. But no one and nothing can stop the Lord from building and blessing. The man who fears the Lord has confidence. The many who fears the Lord has a security that unbelievers cannot know.
Without trust in God, life is vain and toilsome. Man rises and woks, anxious for the future or even just for tomorrow. We live in especially anxious times. The pace of life is rapid. The space of work is spread 24/7. Bad news, both public and private pours into our smartphones continually. Without God, we will rise early and rest little. Our hearts will be full of anxiety. But if need not be this way. Let's turn our hearts to him, the great builder and blesser of his beloved.