“Lots of Christians are practical atheists: faced with a problem, we instinctively turn to ourselves to fix it.” — Stephen Witmer
There’s a Lot of Running Around, but No Points Are Being Scored
As I write this, my family and I have spent weeks living in a hotel because the plumbing in our rental house has left it uninhabitable.
Calls were made.
Emails were sent.
Property managers were contacted.
Tradesmen were scheduled.
City offices were called.
There was plenty of activity.
Very little progress.
The situation reminded me of a phrase I first heard from a radio consultant years ago:
“There’s a lot of running around on the field, but no points are being scored.”
Most Minnesota Vikings fans understand exactly what that means.
Lots of motion.
Lots of effort.
Lots of activity.
Very little advancement.
When our efforts fail, our natural response is rarely dependence on God. More often, we double down. We push harder. We try another strategy. We make another phone call. We search for another solution.
And when those efforts fail too, anxiety usually takes over.
We begin frantically reaching for anything that might produce the result we want.
The cycle accelerates.
The frustration grows.
And before long, our circumstances expose something deeper than our inability to solve a problem.
They expose our dependence.
Or perhaps more accurately, our lack of it.
The Warning Hidden in Psalm 127
Psalm 127 delivers one of the most sobering warnings in all of Scripture:
“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.” — Psalm 127:1
Notice what the psalm does not say.
It does not say builders shouldn’t build.
It does not say watchmen shouldn’t watch.
The problem isn’t effort.
The problem is effort disconnected from God.
Builders are still supposed to build.
Watchmen are still supposed to watch.
Parents are still supposed to parent.
Pastors are still supposed to shepherd.
Employees are still supposed to work.
Leaders are still supposed to lead.
The issue is not whether we are working.
The issue is whether we believe our work is enough.
The psalm confronts one of the deepest temptations of the human heart: the belief that everything ultimately depends on us.
The Christian’s Favorite False Religion
Stephen Witmer makes a penetrating observation:
“Lots of Christians are practical atheists: faced with a problem, we instinctively turn to ourselves to fix it.”
Practical atheism doesn’t mean we deny God exists.
It means we live as though He isn’t necessary.
We affirm God’s sovereignty in church.
Then spend Monday acting as though the outcome depends entirely on our effort.
We pray for provision while trusting our planning.
We pray for growth while trusting our strategy.
We pray for change while trusting our abilities.
We say God is our refuge.
Then function as though we are our own.
This subtle self-reliance often disguises itself as responsibility.
But responsibility and self-sufficiency are not the same thing.
One obeys God.
The other attempts to replace Him.
The Two Errors We Must Avoid
Whenever Christians talk about dependence on God, they tend to drift toward one of two extremes.
Error #1: God Does Nothing, We Do Everything
This is the default setting for many of us.
We acknowledge God with our lips but carry the burden ourselves.
Everything feels urgent.
Everything feels dependent upon us.
Everything feels fragile.
This mindset inevitably produces:
- anxiety
- pride
- exhaustion
- frustration
Because we are trying to carry responsibilities that belong to God.
Error #2: God Does Everything, We Do Nothing
Others swing the opposite direction.
If God is sovereign, they reason, then why act?
Why strive?
Why work?
Why plan?
Why labor?
Yet Scripture never permits passivity.
The Apostle Paul writes:
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” — 1 Corinthians 15:58
Abounding is not passive.
Faithfulness is active.
The Christian life requires effort.
The Healthy Tension: God Works, and We Work
Stephen Witmer describes the biblical position this way:
God does everything.
And we do something.
That tension sits at the heart of faithful living.
God is the ultimate cause.
We are His instruments.
God provides the power.
We provide obedience.
God produces the fruit.
We plant and water.
God accomplishes His purposes.
We faithfully participate.
Think of it like a father teaching his son to mow the lawn.
When my dad taught me to mow, his hands rested on top of mine as we pushed the mower together.
I was working.
But I was not working alone.
The mower moved because he was guiding, strengthening, correcting, and directing.
Without him, the task wouldn’t have been completed—or completed correctly.
That image helps explain how God works through His people.
Our hands move.
But His hands remain on ours.
The Work God Does
John Piper captures this beautifully:
“Behind every accomplishment, God is at work for us. His working for me is always before and under and in any work I do for him.”
That changes everything.
God is not merely observing our efforts.
He is sustaining them.
He is not simply responding after we act.
He is enabling us to act.
Piper continues:
“The proper connotation of saying God works for me is that I am bankrupt and need a bailout. I am weak and need someone strong. I am endangered and need a protector. I am foolish and need someone wise. I am lost and need a Rescuer.”
That is dependence.
Not passivity.
Not laziness.
Not fatalism.
Dependence.
The Christian life begins with the recognition that we are not enough.
And that God is.
What Faithful Effort Looks Like
When we understand Psalm 127 correctly, several things begin to happen.
We Work Hard
Because God commands diligence.
We Pray First
Because God supplies power.
We Plan Carefully
Because wisdom matters.
We Hold Outcomes Loosely
Because results belong to God.
We Sleep Peacefully
Because God never does.
The person laboring in vain believes everything depends on him.
The faithful worker believes God is already at work.
One labors under crushing pressure.
The other labors with confidence.
Both may work equally hard.
Only one rests.
Before You Put Your Hands on It
Psalm 127 invites us to ask one simple question:
Where are God’s hands in relation to yours?
Have you invited Him into the work?
Have you submitted the outcome to Him?
Have you acknowledged your dependence?
Or have you quietly assumed responsibility for something only God can accomplish?
The lesson of Psalm 127 is not that we should stop working.
It is that we should stop working alone.
Because the difference between faithful effort and laboring in vain is not the amount of work performed.
It is whether the Lord is building the house.