Listen to the Spirit!

Some time ago I was in a quandary as to whether or not to retire. I was leaning towards retiring but could find no peace whatsoever about it. About this time a friend of mine retired from a major corporation and I convinced him to do some consulting work for our company. He took an instant liking to my sons, the other employees, the company, and ended up joining us fulltime and even investing in it. After several lengthy meetings we decided that we would invest heavily in the infrastructure of the company and build the company for at least three to five years and then possibly sell it, take it public, or merge with another company. I found tremendous peace after making this decision and I knew this is what God wanted me to do.

After about a year and a half of working together, everything was clicking, we had made vast improvements in our company, we were growing like a weed, and were well on our way to seeing our company reach the next level. We were slated for record profits and excellent growth; there is nothing like seeing a great plan coming together. Then oddly something happened to me that was not logical; I lost my peace of mind. I began to take a hard look at the economy and I did not like what I was beginning to see. Credit card debt was suffocating consumers, real estate was tanking, banks were staggering like a drunken sailor from a portfolio of bad loans, and a business person’s nightmare, Obama, looked like he might win the election and tax this country right into the mother of all depressions. Then I saw some of my competitors being acquired for record amounts of money and tremendous multiples. Hmmmm.

I went to the other owners and told them that I realized that we had all agreed to go at least 3-5 years, but the stars that were lining up seemed to tell me otherwise. I felt compelled to take a hard look at possibly merging with another larger and financially stronger company. After making my case, the others agreed and we began the search. As it turned out, it made more sense to sell outright and we did so. As it turned out we sold at the perfect time,(for all cash). The economy tanked within two weeks of our closing.

We the owners got an excellent price and our company will benefit from the financial strength of a multi-billion dollar company owning it. The company that bought us can keep driving it to success far easier than we ever could with our limited resources. Most of all I found peace of mind yet again!

I think that God gave me a premonition and led us to sell when we did and I am elated that He did. We as owners in all of our infinite wisdom had decided that we would make this move in three to five years; however God had other plans. I suppose the lesson here is to always be searching your heart for what God would have you do and be willing to listen to what God is telling you versus your own limited wisdom. I gauge it by the amount of peace I enjoy or do not enjoy. If I cannot find peace with a decision, I just know in my heart that it is the wrong decision and God does not want me to go that route. One thing I do is spend an enormous amount of time praying and asking God to lead me in the right direction. I then try my utmost to “listen” to the Spirit. I have found that God seldom shouts down His orders; God gently leads and guides us provided we are willing to listen

Isaiah 45:22
Look to Me, and be saved
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God and there is no
other