How Can You Tell When God is Testing You Through Your Business?

Success in God’s economy is about being obedient and making disciples. And we ‘get to’ do that via our businesses. Shocking, I know.

God is actually building your character through your business. He is making you more like His Son, transforming you, and He wants you to duplicate yourself by making more disciples. That’s the God-centered business He desires for you.

How does God grow you? Through tests. When you work out at the gym, you test your muscles by lifting weights. The more you test your muscles, the more your muscles grow.

God builds your character in a similar way. But God’s tests examine many aspects of your life, and He has decided that using your business is the best way to build your character.

God wants us to be all in with Him and for Him.

Romans 12:1 says,

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”

That is the purpose we can all seek. To worship God through everything that we do. . . through our work. That’s success in God’s economy.

What does that look like? It means leading your business with Godly wisdom. You may have gotten into business for one reason, but God has a way of shifting us to be in business for His reasons.

If you are not aligned with God’s plans, you may feel like you’re hitting a wall at times in your business. It may look like nothing is working out the way you want, and you’re not getting the results you thought.  

God is testing you and shifting your focus

This may mean God is testing you and shifting your focus to conduct your business for His reasons.

What does it look like outside of just being frustrated with what is going on in your business?

Here are FIVE things you may be experiencing that will give you clues that God is testing you.

1. You’re feeling confused.

The business is not going as you expected. You sometimes feel like you should just quit.

God is testing your obedience. You know He has called you into business, and if you were to quit now, you would not be obedient. You would not trust that God has your best in mind.

God may be giving you ideas for things that make no sense. He may be asking you to be countercultural or to do something that contrasts with ‘regular’ business practices. You may not like it, but it may be good for you.

God is watching your response to learn exactly how you feel about your relationship with Him. 

If we trust Him, we typically obey. If we don’t trust him, we disobey. Either way, God knows exactly how you feel about Him.

2. You’re feeling stressed.

God wants to know your heart. He doesn’t test you to punish you.

For ourselves, testing is how we determine where we are at with whomever we are attempting to build a relationship with. It’s also how we know what “trusting God” really means. 

Our faith is the spiritual pathway to a relationship with God. When our faith is tested, our relationship with God is tested. Practically, when our faith is tested, our life is tested.

That could feel stressful.

God is testing you in various ways through the Holy Spirit. Paying attention to what’s happening in your life and business should lead you to see that God is trying to teach you through your business’s everyday activities, efforts, and problems. 

One day, it might be your financial situation. Another time, it might be your physical health. There are also relationship tests, be they family, friendship, clientele, or business colleagues, where growth is determined by your willingness to listen and learn, forgive and forget, challenge and change.

These tests and more are what God allows or causes to happen so He can learn what is truly in your heart, whether or not He has a place there. Only these tests can reveal the heart behind your words and express honestly to God where He stands with you. 

3. You’re feeling inadequate.

Many of us feel this when we start a business. You may call it ‘imposter syndrome’. Getting into business can be overwhelming, and we can feel our vision is bigger than we know what to do with.

This is where trusting God really kicks in. Whatever we need, God provides the tests capable of developing those qualities. He has given each of us gifts, talents, experiences, and expertise. He has equipped us to do the job. We just need to trust that what we need will come to us when we need it.

As an entrepreneur, you must keep learning and have the desire to keep learning. It is what makes you successful. You must love personal challenges and have a plan to get better. If He has called you, trust that He has equipped you for your chosen business.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says this, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

Your ‘good work’ right now is your business. You serve God in the way He designed you, and you do it through your business.

4. You’re feeling irritated.

God wants you to welcome testing. The person who is truly in pursuit of a great relationship with God will want to be tested. Scary, I know.

You may feel that you have been tested enough. The truth is that inviting God to test you is very difficult. If you are feeling irritated, it’s probably because you want this ‘testing’ to be directed at someone around you, which is not always your responsibility.

Yet this testing is the best evidence that you understand and trust Him. When you invite God to test you, it is in recognition of the fact that you understand He does it to know you, make you better, and ultimately transform you.

5. You’re feeling inspired.

Of course, God has a goal with all His tests. Almost anyone who has taken a test can tell you that the secret to enduring the experience is keeping your focus on the goal. 

God’s goal for you is your spiritual maturity. He is just doing it through your business.

The end result of your tests and faith is the salvation of your soul.

Living a life where you save your soul is about living a life of. . .

There is no better way to view our businesses as we live out God’s calling for each of us.

James 1:2-4 says this, “. . . when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

God has you in business for His reasons. Get on board with Him, be obedient, and start making disciples.

Need more information about how you can be all God is calling you to be through your business? Connect with me for a Clarity Call. Let’s discuss how God is testing you through your business to make you more like His Son.

Be filled to overflowing,

DeneenTB