2 He broke ground on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his rule.
– 2 Chronicles 3:2
The Art of Preparation
How many of us would be OK waiting 4 years, 2 months, and 2 days to kick off our ministries? Not many I think . . . including myself! But in today's scripture, Solomon, who was anointed by God to build His temple, took exactly that long before breaking ground. If it was me, I would have broken ground first, and then, after the big kick-off celebration and the fanfare died down, I would have been all stressed out trying to figure out how I was ever going to be able to pull this off! I know, because I've actually done it before!
But in his wisdom and knowledge (that God blessed him with), Solomon knew that in order to do anything for God, everything had to be perfect. Every detail, every contingency, every color of every thread of every fabric had to be designed, redesigned, and then prototyped and tested, before construction could begin. There had to be meetings (many, many meetings), and brainstorming sessions, and focus groups, and assigning of duties, and approving of ideas, and most of all . . . there had to be prayer . . . LOTS of prayer and quiet reflection with God.
How many of us start a ministry, or a Bible study, or a Sunday School class, and we just order the materials, put out a sign-up sheet, and dive right in with barely even gaining full understanding of the material we will be using. We scarcely prepare for our meetings, and then we wonder why things didn't go very well and the response was underwhelming (ashamedly, I must admit that I've done this one before as well). Or here's another scenario . . . you feel God has called you to start a particular ministry so you go to your Pastor to get his permission to get started, but instead of being all excited about your new passion, he pulls the brakes and asks you to hold off for a while because the timing just isn't right. WHAAAT?! Time to find a new church, right? Time to go ahead and do what you want anyway, whether the Pastor likes it or not, right? Sadly . . . "been there done that" one too.
God requires our very best because He's given us HIS VERY BEST! He doesn't need our half-baked, ill-prepared, luke-warm efforts to the great ministry potential He's birthed. When He gives us an assignment, He expects that we will give Him our best effort to make sure that He is honored and that He is presented with excellence and that His Word and His Purpose are being executed with full wisdom and knowledge of HIS Love for people. We must take the time necessary to prepare the way for the Lord to move. We must make preparation more important than self gratification, or accolades, or recognition for serving. We need to make sure every word of God, every worship note, each Bible study class, and ALL outreaching hands, are being presented with the authority of a fully-prepared heart . . . no matter how long it takes.
God doesn't need or want our efforts . . . He wants us to understand and to know Him, and He wants us to be excellent when we represent Him. So starting today, let's honor our Father with the gift and the art, of preparation.
Prayer
Father, the Bible says that You have prepared a place for us in Your house. Thank You for the preparation. Thank You for the planning and the thought and the detail that has gone into that place. Forgive us for treating You and Your work with half-hearted efforts and little or no preparation. Help us to make preparation a habit and a priority so that everything we do in Your name, will be received in the manner most worthy, and so that Your Name will be Glorified and Lifted Up!
Have a Blessed day everyone!
– Richard
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