Quiet confidence

I have been writing a book about business for some time now. Lately I have made some progress on it for a change and I actually am beginning to get a little optimistic that the end will soon be within my reach. As with any project, I first made a list of ideas, and then I grouped like things together, and then prioritized my ideas in a list detailing my best and most important thoughts down to the least.

I felt that in order to succeed a business person should first and foremost put God above all else and combine that with solid Bible based character, and a determination to never compromise one’s integrity. I consider this to be essential for success and a foundational requirement.

After establishing that axiom in the book, I looked down my list for the next important foundational requirement. One thing stood out to me as a necessary ingredient when it comes to character, especially for entrepreneurs, and that would be perseverance. Unfortunately many business professionals simply do not have it. At the first sign of real trouble, they just give up and quit. I suppose many people who are on the outside looking in think that it is easy to run a business. It is not; that is why 11 out of 12 fail and go out of business within three short years. That is why one needs perseverance in business and I emphasize this greatly in my book. Sometimes we just have to hunker down and as painful as it might become, we just have to fight our way through it slaying the “dragons” of the world one at a time until we begin to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Quitting is easy, hanging tough is well it is tough.

I have found that this does not just pertain to business, but that all of life is similar to this. It is not a question of whether or not the day of adversity will come; it is simply a question of “when” it will come and how bad will it be “this time”. We will have adversity in our lives and we will either “faint” and fail, or “stiffen” and succeed.

The Bible tells us that if we faint in the face of adversity that our strength is small. Proverbs 24:10 “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small”. If you are a 98 lb. weakling when it comes to adversity, then the logical thing to do is team up with someone who is strong. Who better than Jesus Christ, who just happens to be the strongest force in all of creation? (Note: He is even impervious to Kryptonite.) He tells us to “rest” in Him. We rest by trusting God and therein we find the quiet but amazing powerful strength that enables us to face the most fierce adversity that satan can muster against us and yet He allows us a sense of confident peace all of the way through it.

In the world we find adversity; in Jesus Christ we find rest and peace. Hmmm Next thing on the list in my book is that we need to be smart about our choices. The smart choice in this instance is clear; choose Jesus Christ.

Matt. 11:30
“Come to Me, all you who labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and
learn from me, for I am gentle and
lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light.