Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch 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 sleep to his beloved. (Psalm 127: 1-2)

God is the ulimate reality. God's intention is the only source of success.

Vanity - shav' - is empty and false. Self-assertion separated from God is meaningless.

Without God our efforts and skills are misplaced. Without God our targets are often illusions.

With God our goals are meaningful. With God our efforts are amplified through the work of others and the help of God.

As the Angel Gabriel proclaimed to Mary, "For with God nothing will be impossible." (Luke 1:37)