“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”
James 1:5-7
I’m an entrepreneur. To some people that looks like a glamorous life. A life where you don’t have to go to work if you don’t want to. A life where you can take vacation whenever you want. A life where you are making a lot of money. In some cases, that may be true. But in other cases, that means some days (or months) you are not getting paid, some days you have to go to work because no one else is there, some days you have to do the dirty work because you’re the only one at the time, or sometimes you have to go to work at midnight because there was a summer storm that took our your power and turned off all the refrigerators.
There is a lot of trust that has to happen when you're living this way of life. You read "give us this day our daily bread" quite literally some days.
But this is not my point.
What I am learning about life is this: you step, God provides.
It is like a dance.
You take a step, God provides for you.
You take a step, God provides for you.
You take a step, God provides for you.
You’re not going to see the providing until you step.
It is like when you buy an item from a store, you are not going to see what it is really like until you purchase it, bring it home and see what happens when you take it out of the box.
You just have to trust and take a step. I know we have heard it before, but maybe this time we will hear it a little clearer.
I am taking this dance into other aspects of my life outside of business, too.
We took an apartment where the rent was stretching, God provided for us. We put an offer in on a house, he provided for us. We started a coffee shop, he provided for us. We reconciled the relationship, he provided for us. The steps get bigger, He still provides. That is what He wants to tell us.
You step, I provide.
You step, I provide.
You step, I provide.
He wants us to trust Him with everything. He wants us to be wise, He wants us to look to Him for our wisdom, strength and encouragement.
He wants us to look at Him as our only source of strength. Not look at our bank accounts, our parents, what the world is saying or what the statistics say.
We can use those things as tools, but we should not trust in them. We should trust in Him. We should trust that the impossible is just his regular, everyday task. That He delights in making our dreams a reality because they are His dreams too.
He delights in us.
He loves us.
He loves us regardless of if we open the business or not. He loves us if we take the step or step backwards instead.
But the thing is, when we step, we have to trust. We have to believe and not doubt. We have to pray without ceasing. We have to look at every moment of the journey, every step, every thought of a step, as a delight.
Even the moments when you are crying because you do not know what you’re doing. The moments when the bank account does not line up. Because, man, it works when it is God's will. God works through your situation, He works through you. The moments where the trust is more stretching than the comfort zone, His faithfulness is displayed all the more.
Outside that comfort zone is where you are going to find Him. Outside that comfort zone is where you will find your strength, your courage and your wisdom.
Outside your comfort zone is where you are going to find that He always provides for you.