Preparing in Spite of Troubles
1 Chronicles 22:14
"Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto."
Years ago when I was learning to fly airplanes, part of the training my instructor put me through was learning to fly in spite of clouds and storms. To prepare for these, he had me close my eyes as he made several maneuvers to cause me to become disoriented. Then, he put a hood over my head, which was something like a sun visor hat. When he told me to open my eyes, I was to immediately look at the instruments to orient myself with what the plane was doing. The purpose of this was to teach me to stay focused in spite of clouds and storms so that I would be able to successfully fly through any trouble.
David did this in his life. David said, "...in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD..." You will notice that David didn't wait till everything was running smoothly to make preparations for the LORD's house. No matter what he faced in his life, he continued to prepare for the house of the LORD. In spite of wars, he kept sight of his purpose of preparing for the house of the LORD. In spite of family turmoil, he kept preparing for the LORD's house. In spite of death, he kept preparing for the LORD's house. David did not allow the troubles of life to sidetrack him from preparing for the house of the LORD.
The Devil would love to get you to let your troubles sidetrack you from doing what you are supposed to do. One of the reasons the Devil tries to send troubles your way is to get you to stop serving God and focus on your troubles. He is not as concerned about you destroying your life in sin as he is with you doing God's will for your life. So, he will send every obstacle and trouble your way just to get you sidetracked from God's purpose of placing you on this Earth.
Christian, your troubles of life are not going to change if you allow them to sidetrack you from serving the LORD. If you stop doing what you are supposed to do to focus on your troubles, then you have left the very thing that will cause God to help you through them. God allows your troubles because He can do greater works through them. You must not allow your troubles to keep you out of church. You must not allow them to keep your from soul winning. You must not allow them to keep you from your ministry. Don't allow your troubles to sidetrack you from what you are supposed to do.
Furthermore, the greatest test of your Christianity is if you continue to do what you are supposed to do in spite of your troubles. When the world sees that you continue going in spite of hardships and heartache, then the world will see that you truly believe in your purpose. The Christian faith is made stronger when you continue going through your troubles.
Have you allowed troubles to sidetrack you from doing what God wants you to do? Have you stepped back from your responsibilities because of your troubles? Have you allowed troubles to sidetrack you from what you are supposed to be doing? Be careful that you always stay focused on what God wants you to do. Troubles will come, but they should never cause you to stop serving God. When troubles come, take them to the LORD and let Him deal with them. Then, leave your troubles with the LORD and go serve Him. This is how you keep your troubles from sidetracking you from what you are supposed to do.