Don't believe the lie that your life doesn't matter or that God has no use for you. His dream for your life is connected to your purpose and people. Your dream matters more than you know! Join me at Prayer Assembly COGIC in Phoenix, AZ on Sunday, December 28th as I share this powerful message. 

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It's Election Day and everybody is talking about the candidates and who they are going to cast their votes for. Here in Georgia we have a small snapshot of Georgia's political legacy, considering those with politically famous names running for office including, Jason Carter (grandson of President Jimmy Carter), Michelle Nunn (daughter of former Senator Sam Nunn), and David Perdue (first cousin of former Governor Sonny Perdue). 

Those who are not privy to walk in those political circles might tend to feel left out or helpless as it relates to wielding influence or receiving political favor. Fortunately, God doesn't look at last names to determine whether or not you're worthy to receive favors from Him. He is not a respecter of persons, His love is everlasting, and His mercy endures forever!

In fact, God voted for you when He chose His son to die on your behalf. And according to Revelation 5:9, you were elected you to the position of king and priest. So, whether you know it or not,  as part of God's family you have a lot of royal responsibilities here on the planet (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

There's a big difference between working hard and working right. 

As we pass through the Labor Day season and many people celebrated a day off from their intense work lives, a thought came to me about how hard Christians work in their businesses. I wonder if we're working TOO hard as entrepreneurs... 

Now that's a strange idea for typical entrepreneurs to embrace, because most of us have been drilled with ethic of hard work all our lives. We have been taught that without hard work we won't accomplish our goals. We also have been taught to "work smart versus working  hard." However, we haven't always been taught as Christian entrepreneurs that the smartest way to work is to engage God more intentionally in our work. The truth is if God is not intimately involved in working smarter, you really aren't working all that smartly and you won't achieve the results that you desire.

Grace works by faith, not by works. 

We are not just saved by grace, we are supposed to work with grace. After salvation grace empowers us to do what God has called us to do in the way that He wants us to do it.

God doesn't want you to work hard just for the sake of working hard, especially if it involves stress, anxiety, health issues and anything else that steals the joy from the work for which God purposed you to do. He wants you to work right. And the right way to work in the Kingdom is through faithfulness, diligence, and trusting Him to direct your business activities and decisions. You don't have to waste a lot of time, energy, and effort toiling to get things done, when He can open doors in moments versus the years it took you to get them open by yourself. That's called favor.

I don't recall Jesus sweating to get much of anything done. As a matter of fact we never hear of anything related to him running, rushing,  or anything else related to many of the behaviors we experience as we operate our businesses. Jesus wasn't just speaking figuratively in Matthew 11:30 when he said, "my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

The reason Jesus could be so calm in his business was because he spent so much time in prayer that the "work" he did was made much easier. The less you pray the harder your work will be. The more you pray the easier your work will be because God will give you revelation, insight, and wisdom to work more efficiently and effectively. In 1898 pastor Andrew Murray said it like this...

"Time spent in prayer will yield more than that given to work. Prayer alone gives work it's worth and its success. Prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in us and through us. Let our chief work as God's messengers be intercession; in it we secure the presence and power of God to go with us."

Unfortunately, many Christian entrepreneurs don't trust this principle and spend a lot of time in a nose-to-the-grind, trial-and-error, blood-sweat-and-tears mode, mainly because we don't know any better. The ways of the world are not the ways of God.

The less you allow God to direct your decisions, the harder you will have to work. The less you depend on God, the more you will have to depend on your own talent, resume, network, money, resources, etc. Now God can use all those things if He desires, but He will show how to use them so that your results are so much greater than you could have done on your own.

Working without God is toil. Working with God is worship.

I'm not saying that following God's instructions will always result in "easy" work, but what I am saying is that following God's instructions will keep you from unnecessary mistakes, detours, and u-turns. Many of these delays - that cost you time and money - could be avoided by acknowledging God in all your ways. Don't you think that if God gave you the business idea, He wants to see you succeed and will tell you everything you need to know to make that happen? I'm just sayin'...

Many scriptures speak to how success is accomplished in God's eyes. Very few of them relate to working hard in the natural. Most of them relate to "work" that happens in the Spirit.

• "Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do." ~ Joshua 1:8
• "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain..." ~ Psalm 127:1
• "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
• "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." ~ Proverbs 14:12
  
• "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." ~ Proverbs 16:3
• "... I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go." ~ Isaiah 48:17
• "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." ~ John 15:5
  
• "... My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness..." ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9

God wants to be your board chairman, CEO, CFO, partner, operations manager, advisor, coach, angel investor, virtual assistant, and so much more. He gives your business the best competitive advantage that you could have in the marketplace. If you trust Him and the work He wants to do through you, He will be all that you need to succeed.

What are your thoughts about how hard Christian entrepreneurs work? How do you engage God in your business?

Setbacks are the seeds of success. If you don’t learn to deal effectively with setbacks, you won’t ever realize true success.

My how time flies! It seems like just yesterday we were welcoming in the new year. Two-thirds of the year is just about gone. And If you are anything like me, you have been reflecting on the past eight months or so to assess how your year is progressing. You have probably been replaying experiences in your head that you would give labels to, such as joyful, painful, challenging, memorable, forgettable, funny, and even “oh, I forgot about that one.”

As people go through the process of assessing their year, most of them will fall into one of two categories. They will assess their year as either a series of successes or a series of failures. For those who think they are struggling or failing, they will try harder, work longer, and spend more time doing what they think they need to do to accomplish their goals.

Unfortunately, one of the most important things they will fail to do is change their perspective on what they consider failure. They don’t realize that failure is not the lack of success or making a mistake. Failure is either not trying or not learning from your mistakes (i.e. continuing to do the same thing without making any changes).

I almost titled this posting, “Failing Successfully,” but I prefer the term “setback” versus failure, because failure isn’t final – it’s formative. How is it formative? A setback is simply a failure that becomes a success when it is transformed into an opportunity to learn and grow. Learning from your setbacks, missteps, and mistakes positions you for success.

EVERYTHING that happens in your life is either an opportunity to learn something new, grow your character, or develop your skills. It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” It’s easy to claim success and be positive when everything is going well in your business, but how do you handle things when your plans go awry? What is your response like during those times? Do you go into learning mode or complaining mode?

The outcome of your situation is largely dependent upon your perspective. If you think your situation is a problem then you typically will approach it pessimistically. However, if your perspective is that your situation is an opportunity, you will approach it optimistically. Entrepreneurs need to be almost obsessively optimistic, because of the exceptional challenges that they face to succeed.

Understand that if your problems were any less challenging, it would require someone less talented and less equipped than you to handle them. You see, the skill of a sailor is not developed in calm seas. Your ultimate success requires you going through challenges and adversity to develop your character and skills.

Recently, I heard a young lady encouraging her friends, telling them, “let your frustration be your determination.” Although she wasn’t talking to me directly, that motivational gem has helped me to keep a positive attitude about some of the difficulties that I encounter in my business and in life.

What are some other things that can help you to have the right perspective so that you can achieve successful setbacks in your business and life? Part 2 is coming soon!