1. WORTHWHILE PROJECTS TYPICALLY REQUIRE MUCH EFFORT & TIME.
II Chronicles 2:2 - "Solomon selected seventy thousand men to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred to oversee them."
The temple construction project took seven years in all and millions of hours of labor. Now that's commitment, and it was worth it, no doubt. It would have been a wonderful treat to see the glorious temple completed in Solomon's day. The commitment by Solomon, the builders, and the people was well worth it. Are we committed to worthwhile projects today that the Lord has set before us (e.g., Matt. 28:19,20)? If we are only minimally engaged, then the answer is "no." But, if we are putting forth our best effort (which will be reflected in the time and money invested), then God is honored and we will be blessed (cf. Matt. 22:37,38). If we are only keeping up appearances and not really laboring for the Master, we will fail (cf. Matt. 25:24ff).
2. GOD'S FORGIVENESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN CONDITIONED UPON HUMILITY & REPENTANCE.
II Chronicles 7:13,14 - "When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
I cannot think of any Bible examples where God has forgiven a rebel who was hardened in his sins and unwilling to change. However, if the rebellious man humbles himself and seeks the Lord's way of righteousness, then there is hope for him. So it was in Solomon's day, and so it is today (cf. Luke 13:3; James 4:7-10). Let all evildoers turn from their wicked ways and live. God has no pleasure in their destruction but demands their humble repentance (cf. Eze. 33:10-16).
3. IN TIME OF SEVERE SICKNESS OR DISEASE, CONTINUE TO SEEK THE LORD FIRST.
II Chronicles 16:12 - "And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa become diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD but the physicians."
Certainly there is a place for the work of medical doctors today, but there is no doctor like the Great Physician, the One who created us and sustains us in body and spirit! Let us always seek the Lord in prayer, particularly when sickness or disease comes. As James 5:14 instructs - "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." It is still true that "the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16).