The power of preparation

Good morning! I hope your weekend was refreshing and filled with the presence of Christ.

This week I will be travelling to India with two other men from our church. This will be my second visit to India to work alongside a fellow pastor and dear friend. Over the 12 days of our journey we will be working with church leaders throughout southern India.

A trip such as this one is not thrown together overnight, in fact it takes many months of prayer, planning and follow through to bring it all together.

1 Chronicles 22:5 (NLT)
David said, “My son Solomon is still young and inexperienced, and the Temple of the Lord must be a magnificent structure, famous and glorious throughout the world. So I will begin making preparations for it now.” So David collected vast amounts of building materials before his death.

I am a big picture type of person. I dream big dreams and want to see them realized in the blink of an eye. For someone like me planning and preparation can be difficult, but without there is no realization of the dream once dreamed. The realization of the dream is the fruit of the labor of preparation.

For this trip, setting dates and saying “I’ll see you there” is not enough. My team and I have had to raise funds; choose flight schedules and routes; update our vaccinations, make sure our passports and visas were in order; prepare our minds, bodies and souls for the journey ahead. Those are the big things. Then there are the “minor” details like toothpaste, toilet paper, batteries, socks, a belt ( I actually forgot this one the last time), etc….

When it is all said and done the dream will be reality. These months of preparation will become a life changing experience not only for my team, but for those we spend time with in the next two weeks. All of the burden of preparation will be rewarded with the fruit of fulfillment.

So today put the ball in motion. Begin the preparation process to do something big. Stop living by the rule of “why do today what you can put off until tomorrow.” Great things can be accomplished when we set our mind to finishing one task at a time.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl

p.s. You may be receiving your Monday Morning Encouragement at some unique times over the next two weeks due to time differences and internet availability.