CHRISTIAN BUSINESS TALK (CBT)
-With GIDEON AKANDE
Today’s Topic: Priority of God’s leading in Business

BY THE GRACE OF God I’m going to be having weekly Christian Business Talk on practical and godly ways of succeeding in business by the inspiration of Holy Spirit and my personal experience in business.

Today I’m talking on the topic PRIORITY OF GOD’S LEADING IN BUSINESS.

Why I wanted to do business?
I had the call of God upon my life as an Evangelist since I was about 8 years old, and the calling was obvious to many. As the Lord was preparing me for this evangelical, non-denominational ministry, I had strong and precious desire to run a free of charge ministry, where every ministry material coming from the ministry would be free including free delivery and posting, where nothing would be sold and no money would be solicited for. Just simple ministry with contentment.

When We Started Business
After I got married, my wife and I started a small business, but concerned family members and friends were telling us, “Hey, business is not predictable, your wife needs to get a good job.” After several years of progress in business without my wife getting any job but rather giving jobs to several people, concerned family members still said, “Hey, you need to save money, good savings, because business is not predictable, anything can happen in business, you need something to fall back to.”

With my personal experience, I need to be sincere with you that my concerned family and friends are right, business is not predictable, anything can happen in business and get the whole things fall apart. Business is not as easy as getting a good secured job like Federal Government jobs or telecom or oil company jobs where you go to work and work, collect a sure salary, get promotion and plan your life from January to December ( a business person can’t plan like a government or private worker). Yet with my personal experience, having business is more rewarding and profitable when God is leading you. Business is not predictable, but God’s faithfulness is predictable, profits and planning in business are not as straightforward as having a job, but God’s favours are so certain.

You see, when you allow God to lead you in your business and career, your progress will know no end, when others are folding up, you will be going up, when others are shutting down in business, you will be shooting up. I have come to discover in business that God’s work in a man’s life can never crash or get destroyed. What really matter in business is not to have a plan B, or to save money in case the business folds up or to get job, nooooo, what you need to be sustained and continually succeed in business is God’s leading as your priority. How do we do that? Number one, we don’t follow ungodly practices in business lest we chase God’s presence away in that business, don’t play over-smart against God’s word, don’t bribe, don’t lie or involve in any ungodly acts; don’t cheat, be honest and godly and your business will know no failure. Secondly, follow God’s leading without delay. Don’t lead yourself, let God lead you even when you don’t understand. Don’t try to be a professional business person that follow laid down plans, no; but rather be flexible to follow God’s plan as he leads – trust and obey promptly.

I can plan A in the morning and in the afternoon if God says go to B direction, I go. And people that were with me in the morning with plan A may fill confused when I change to B. That is not professional, but it is profitable. God’s leading as priority, which is what matters in succeeding in business.

My Testimony
The reality of business is that many things about tomorrow we don’t understand, but God knows tomorrow so we follow when He leads even if it seems foolish to men.

Last year, my family and I moved from Abuja to Lagos and then to Ibadan in other to establish the new business He had just given us. It was God’s leading. We spent exactly 8 months in Lagos and Ibadan, and many of our staffs in Abuja could do little or nothing, many might thought the company had packed up, so we ran away, many thought we would never come back again, and all left.

But after 8 months, God led us to move back to Abuja again. You know what? When we came back to Abuja, we finally confirmed that the channel we were using to sell products of our main old company no longer worked again, but God has opened another channels for us in Lagos while we were there. In addition to that, the new company we went to establish is doing better. By the grace of God our ministry is starting weekly ministrations on some radio stations which is going to be sponsored by the new business.

Looking at the whole things, I discovered without God’s leading we would have been stranded, but now we are striving; without God’s leading in our business we would have folded up but we are forging ahead. Sometimes, people get confused about my family’s movements as our plans change, it’s because we don’t lead ourselves; we plan and project, but we surrender to God’s leading – both strange and familiar.

So I can categorically tell you that business is unpredictable, but God’s faithfulness is predictable, it never fails. Business fluctuates but God’s favour is forever. When you take God’s leading in your business and career as priority, persistent progress and profits become permanent!

Amen!

By God’s grace, next week Sunday, I will talk about another topic in Christian succeeding in business world.

Remain blessed in the Lord

Gideon A