Battle of the Wills

I am so encouraged in the Lord.  I am doing my Psalms Bible study and today is on the beginning part of Psalm 127.

¹ Unless the LORD builds a house,
its builders labor over it in vain;
unless the LORD watches over a city,
the watchman stays alert in vain.
² In vain you get up early and stay up late,
working hard to have enough food—
yes, He gives sleep to the one He loves.^[a]

I have built so many things in vain (many in the name of God).  The more I meditate on this subject and go before God on my face, the more I see my biggest problem and maybe the biggest problem of all Christians is a battle of the will.  I think most of us who follow the Lord have a heart towards Him and want to grow, but I still forge ahead in my own godly plans.  I still warm my hands by the fire of the Lord instead of letting God light my life on fire for Him as He did with Peter at Pentecost (from a recent message from Pastor Schaller).  It’s so encouraging to know a big part of our struggle can end when we truly believe God has our best interest at heart even when He brings us through the fire.  We can lay all of our plans and desires at the altar and watch a new life resurrect greater than anything we can imagine.  Now that is one tall order for a girl from New England who could probably like Cain go out and build a city from her own strength – hopefully not after murdering someone (also from a recent message).