Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
who stand by night in the house of the Lord! -Psalm 134:1

The Levites were the servants of the Lord who bore the responsibility of mediating between God. Among other things, these priests prepared placed on the altar the sacrifices brought by people seeking to be right before God. They also prayed on behalf of the people, made necessary repairs and maintained the Temple, as well as keeping the censors burning with incense and all other furnishings in the Temple operating as God prescribed.

Night duty could seem a boring task. The crowds were pretty much gone, the place was empty, and mostly mundane, tedious tasks remained such as refilling censors, keeping the fires going, and basically making sure things were ready for the next day. Night duty was not the most glamorous, but nonetheless, the priests took it seriously and rendered their service to God.

In our Christian walk, we may sometimes feel like we are on “night duty.” No one notices what we are doing. We have a low profile while other Christians get attention for their more visible acts of service. We find ourselves engaged in the routine, mundane activities of the faith and long for something more glamorous or exciting.

Psalm 134:1 is a reminder to us of the importance of the “night shift” in God’s eyes. If the night shift did not do their duty, the fires would go out, the incense would not burn, some needs would not receive intercessory prayer since they would get pushed back on the daytime to do list by the hectic schedule encountered by the day shift. If the night shift were not on duty, the Temple would not be open during the night season, when God may be dealing one of His wayward children directing them to sacrifice and pray.

Never mistake the “night shift” of your faith walk for a useless, wasted time. God has you where you are in your season of life for His purpose. Use the down time to pray more fervently for people on your heart. Be prepared for God to send someone your who needs the special attention someone more swamped with spiritual activity could not give them. Regardless of how it may seem, “nothing” is never happening.

Be faithful on the night shift. God may have strategically placed you because He wants to “leave the light on” for some returning child.