What else is futile?

Psalm 127:1-2Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Living without God is futile. Life without God comes to a sobering focus the day we die.

Psalm 2:1Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans?

Acts 4:25“You spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans?’”

James 4:13-16Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.

Planning without God is futile. If the Architect and Master Builder of life is absent, what are we building?

Isaiah 14:26-27“I have a plan for the whole earth, a hand of judgment upon all the nations. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?”

Jonah 1:3-4Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish. But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart.

Trying to stop God’s plans—or run from them—is futile. God alone knows the future, so no one can plan for the future better than he can.

Psalm 76:5-8Our boldest enemies have been plundered. They lie before us in the sleep of death. No warrior could lift a hand against us. At the blast of your breath, O God of Jacob, their horses and chariots lay still. No wonder you are greatly feared! Who can stand before you when your anger explodes? From heaven you sentenced your enemies; the earth trembled and stood silent before you.

Isaiah 41:11“See, all your angry enemies lie there, confused and humiliated. Anyone who opposes you will die and come to nothing.”

Jeremiah 50:24Listen, Babylon, for I have set a trap for you. You are caught, for you have fought against the Lord.

Nahum 1:11Who is this wicked counselor of yours who plots evil against the Lord?

Fighting against God is futile. Many people are confident in their earthly strength and power; but compared to the power that made the universe, they are insignificant.

Psalm 10:11The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”

Ignoring or hiding from God is futile. God knows our guilty secrets, and avoiding him will not remove our guilt. God doesn’t want us to hide from him in fear—he wants us to come to him honestly and repent so we can receive his forgiveness (Ezekiel 33:11).

Ecclesiastes 4:7-8I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.

Mere toil is futile. Work without purpose is activity without accomplishment, a tree without fruit.