(Job 5 v 7 Psalm 127 v 1)
Ever met anyone who felt sorry for Job?
Of course you have.
At the very mention of his name, we are reminded of suffering.
He ( Job) comments:
"Man was born to trouble (amal) ?."
And, who better qualified to say this than Job?
The thing is, there is another place where this word amal is used.
It is in that oft quoted verse from Psalm 127 v1:
"Unless the Lord build the house, it's builders labour (amal) in vain.."
And the meaning , (apart from literally "trouble" itself), is "to labour or toil to the point of exhaustion"
No doubt Job felt that just waking up and making it through another day was toil enough
But the bible also uses amal to describe the experience of those who attempt to build the church without the Lord.
They will also labour, and toil, and do so to the point of exhaustion.
They will, literally, be in trouble.
And all for nothing?..in vain.
So, for those who have any responsibility at all for leadership in the body of Christ
Let's ask God for the wisdom to only do the stuff he wants done.
And have the courage to drop the rest.
And for the rest of us, let's not cease to pray for those who lead
Because their amal will not benefit us or honour the Lord.
Actually, whether they know it or not,
They do need all the help they can get.