Business Life
I know you are good at what you do. You have been working hard on your career and you are proud of what you have accomplished. There have been challenges along the way and your business doesn’t look like it did at the beginning. You are grateful for every lesson you have learned. And, I know, you are trying to make a difference in the lives of your clients and customers.
My friend Sophia is just like you. She is a talented businesswoman. In fact, she is a financial planner. Her work in the community is amazing. She is on the boards of at least two non-profits and she leads community projects such as adopt-a-highway and raising money for the SPCA. She does a lot of good in her community.
She would say she has meaningful work. For you, it is important to have meaning in your work too. If you think about it, there is an aspect of your work that satisfies a real heart-felt need. Bringing your brand to your clients and solving their problems gives you satisfaction beyond the sale or the money you earn.
Faith Life
But, if you are like Sophia, there is something just a little off. That success you experience in your business life somehow doesn’t translate to your faith life. You, most times, feel guilty about your lack of commitment to the things of God. You feel the deep need to connect with Him but know it can’t be in the way that has been modeled for you.
Your life is full, you don’t have the time or the patience to go to group Bible studies or even attend church every week. You tell yourself there are things, like travel, that keep you from the church door but in your heart you know there are other things that keep you away: judgement, guilt, feeling left out, loneliness, and no deep connections. . . .
Sophia once told me that she tried to go to the church sponsored Bible studies they hold in the mornings but she found that her mind was not there. Since it was during peak market opening times, she was distracted and could only concentrate on how much time was remaining before she could get to work. AND, the evening Bible study didn’t work either since she preferred to spend time with her children (plus, she is a single mom).
Both Lives
Let’s face it, Sophia’s friends and your friends are your business colleagues, they are who you spend the most time with. You wish they knew more about your faith side. You want to be able to share that part of yourself with them, but you fear rejection. You keep that part hidden and really don’t show up as your authentic self to your work world.
Keeping these two parts of you separate is how you have always functioned, but it is not working. You are tired of the separation, you want to bring your whole self to the table, no matter where you find yourself: the boardroom, the PTA meeting or the Sunday School class. You want your faith-life to grow and to matter more to you. You want to represent Christ in the marketplace as His ambassador. Getting by with saying, ‘I work with integrity’, is not enough. You want to serve God in a real way, and it has to look different than going on a mission trip, volunteering to head up a committee, or greeting at the church door on a Sunday morning.
Bending your view of how the Christian life looks is hard for you. And like Sophia, you have tried to live up to a standard of what is ‘good’. You are busy in community events and charities. They help your business as well as fill a certain void. This serves a purpose because it makes you feel connected, at least for a time.
Still, you know there is more God wants from you. Mainly, it is the craving He has placed in you for a deeper relationship with Him. You want to know for yourself what the Bible says. But you need to approach it in a new way. You are not satisfied to just learn from books, pastors, sermons, teachers. You want to connect to God in a more personal way, in a way that speaks to your heart.
Connected Life
For Sophia this has led down some interesting paths. In her quest for connection she has tried many things. She has taken a lengthy course about showing up with integrity. She has connected to her energy by going on yoga retreats. AND, she is always ready to embark on the next ‘experience’. She has bought into some other new age ideas and not even realized it. What she hasn’t realized is that God has answered all those questions for meaning and connection.
How? In His Word. By digging into the meat of it and not settling for just that superficial level (the milk). My recommendation is a spiritual mentor, director, or accountability partner. Treat your spiritual growth like you would any other growth goal. Treat it like you would a class. Write the goal and then act on it in a decisive way. Take spiritual growth, knowing God, as serious as you take working out, eating well, planning client meetings, taking care of your family, etc. Having someone on the journey with you will help you figure out your way to a deeper relationship with God and understand how to serve Him.
You are perfect for what God wants you to do. Nothing you have done disqualifies you for His service. NO amount of ‘other’ good deeds will give you the heart satisfaction as will learning more about Him and His heart for you. Growing in faith will not mean more work for you. If anything, learning about God will give you a type of focus you have never experienced before. Following God does not mean ‘doing it all’, it means knowing for sure that the things you do at work, the actions you decide to take, and the choices you make- big and small- all point to God’s glory and His purpose in your life.
Your Life
I know you feel too busy, too exhausted, too distracted to think about one more thing in your life. Imagine aligning all the activities, work, distractions, and pieces of your life into a single focus. Imagine having the bandwidth to do what you want, what God wants, and still be able to function in a way that gives you peace and satisfaction- no matter your circumstance.
Stop trying to piece together wholeness.
Stop trying to do more ‘good’ with less results.
Stop making excuses for your lack of faith growth.
Start believing what God says about you.
Start taking action to get to know God better.
Start seeing your work as your worship.
Start reading the Bible and get discipled.
Start aligning with God for your success in life and business.
Sophia has come a long way. When I first met her, she barely took the time to read the verse of the day on her phone app. Now, she is reading through the Bible for the third time. I am glad she has allowed me to be her spiritual mentor. It has been exciting to see her grow in her faith, grow in God. There is always more work to do, and I feel privileged to be a part of her growth.
Yes, it takes discipline, BUT GOD. He wants you to thrive in relationship with Him. Take the time to grow your faith, it will fuel your business (and your life).
Be filled to overflowing,
Deneen
P.S. CLICK HERE to schedule a chat with me about growing your Faith to Fuel your business.
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