5 Simple Practical Steps to Align Your Business with God
Aligning your business with God for some may seem like a totally out-there concept to bring business and God together and for others a walk in the park and they are all over it.
I know being on this business journey for eight years now that there are seasons where I feel I am so close to God I can hear Him breathe and there are other seasons where life just gets SO busy I don’t feel like I have taken the time to spend with God and life can feel a little empty and you ask yourself if you’re actually aligned with God.
Whatever season you’re in, I am not here to condemn you or give you another thing to add to your “To-Do” list. Instead, I am going to give you some simple practical steps you can do throughout the day to get yourself and your business realigned and back in the swing of things with Jesus by yourside.
Before we get into the steps I want to just put two things on the table.
Firstly, even though you might be feeling distant right now, God is still with you and the Holy Spirit is still inside you. He’s not gone anywhere and He’s here to stay, so even though you might be “feeling” alone. You’re not, God is with you and He has you.
Second, personally, I believe people have put way too much enthusiast into the “your calling”, “finding your calling” and “hearing the voice of God” so please don’t feel like just because you can’t “hear” the voice of God you’re not a good person or less of a person or Christian either. That’s a silly lie, God is with you because when you gave your life to Jesus the Holy Spirit entered in your soul and all that’s available in heaven is right at your fingertips. You got this, and God’s got you!
We’re going to go through this aligning process in a very gentle way.
I encourage you, even if you’re a dedicated prayer warrior to still take part in this exercise as God can speak to everyone at all different stages.
1. Let’s start with the foundations – The dream – Sugar, God has given you a passion, dream or vision for a reason. That niggling feeling you have in your heart to change the world or to have/start your business. God put it there. Listen to it. By listening to it, you’re naturally walking in obedience and yes there will be tough times, times of learning, adapting and making tough decisions BUT by taking the step, you’re aligning yourself with whom God made you.
2. Jesus is the CEO of your business, but most importantly He is your Saviour. Salvation first, business second! I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve sat down with God to “talk about business” and the next thing I know He’s taking me through some healing in my life that’s TOTALLY NOT BIZ RELATED! lol. Ouchy! It’s still important that Jesus has access to every part of your life, yes we totally want Him to be part of our business and to guide us, asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom and knowledge is a great thing to do, but don’t make it all about business either.
God still wants to relate to you on a deeper level, He’s got your business sorted honey, He is more interested in your heart!
3. If something doesn’t seem right on a phone call or in a meeting, (you know, that sicky feeling when you know something isn’t right that you get in your belly) LISTEN TO IT. That’s the Holy Spirit telling you something isn’t right. Be brave, listen to the feeling and stand your ground. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what the problem is, but DO NOT say yes to something just to people-please or to because you feel you have to.
A polite, “Thank you so much for this wonderful offer, but at this time I am going to have to pass.” if fine! We don’t need to explain our decisions to anyone.
God will bless you in your obedience, even when it’s saying “Not now” to something.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask God for help. Or ask Him to put someone around you who can help you with a tricky situation, chances are, He’s already got someone lined up with the exact words/answers you need to hear!
5. Have a day off. Sounds totally opposite to what you “should” be doing in a busy season. But trust me, some time away can be just what you need and God will drop the golden nuggets when you take time off.
I’ve also asked our community members what aligning their business with God means to them so let’s take a read…
Susanna Bateman – “To have my business aligned with God to me means He shows me His plans, the dreams He has for LM, the things He wants to achieve in and through LM, us stopping and listening to His voice as He downloads what’s on His heart and then us being obedient and in faith stepping it out IN HIS STRENGTH and HIS WISDOM.
We always are in consultation with God asking Him to have His way because it is His tool here on earth to extend His Kingdom, it is not our business or our little empire, it is a tool in which He releases His Spirit on earth in so many and varied ways.
I could go on and on what this really means and how we walk this out in everyday practice but it would take a long time because we have surrendered LM to God over and over again, on a daily basis.
So He He is IN EVERY part of LM from why LM exist, to how it operates, to how it brings glory to God, to how we serve Him in EVERY area from the smallest detail to the huge decisions that need to be made.
There is nothing like the joy and freedom that comes when we align our business with God and His eternal plans here on earth to deliver His kingdom here on earth and have the awesome privilege of being His hands and feet in His mission.
I guess we are like Moses, we don’t want to climb any mountain unless God is with us because we know very well, we can do nothing in our own strength and nothing compares to walking IN Him”.
Helen Wakefield – “To me it’s not only about following where he leads in the business, but also aligning my conduct and practices with his values. How I treat and respond to staff and clients, as well as making decisions in a way that pleases God as opposed to what you’re technically allowed to do”.
Megan Horsfall – “To me, it means – making sure that my core business values line up with the Word of God. That the way I treat people is reflective of those values, but also that the way I treat myself and my business lines up too. I have to value others as well as valuing what God has put in my lap. I have to value myself and my time too.
When I make big decisions for my business, I bring God into it, I pray about it and listen. … but I also need to remember that God has given me wisdom in this business and I have to use that to make choices and decisions daily and I have to trust that wisdom too”.
Stephanie Mammarella – “Wow! So aligning my business by his word is really important as I am still in the early stages of getting it done right. I find I am leaning on him more now than ever and i seem to be in a continual state of waiting and stepping out and waiting to see what God will allow next. It’s new ground still but it’s worth it. Because the end result means supplying others with what they need. It’s really important for me that I keep going even though there is no fruit yet because although progress is small, it’s still answered prayers when I look back and see how far I have come!”
Deirdre Coleman – “For me aligning my business with God means aligning my business with carrying out my calling ..either directly or indirectly by providing the funds to do so or at least a stepping stone to getting me closer to being able to carry it out”.
ARE YOU READY TO CREATE A POSITIVE CULTURE OR COMMUNITY THROUGH YOUR MARKETING & LEADERSHIP?
LADY, WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BRING TO YOU THE CWIB COMMUNITY CONFERENCE/RETREAT FOR 2021!
WE HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR AN AWESOME TIME…
DATES: 20TH FEB TO 21ST FEB 2021
LOCATION: ALEXANDRA PARK, ALEXANDRA HEADLANDS, SUNSHINE COAST, QLD, AUSTRALIA
Founder Sarah-Jane Meeson was given a word to inspire women. Since then, Sarah-Jane dreamed about how she could inspire women and unite them together. She knew it was going to be for God and she knew she had a passion for business and just to see people thrive and be all that they can be: no matter what past they’ve had, no matter how much money or where they come from. It’s about them being the best person they can be for God and to help share their story of how God has worked through their life and business.
After chatting with a girlfriend and sitting on the idea for a while, God kept prompting her heart to bring this movement of women together. After some time, Sarah-Jane knew what she needed to do; she bit the bullet and now here it is. Christian Women in Business – a movement of Christian women pushing forward for God in their businesses … and it’s great!