Decisive Faith
Part of my prayer journal entry from April 15th, 2021
Having faith is tough.
We WANT to trust God and His plan for our lives, but then we doubt Him. We bend. We fold to societal pressures. More often than not, we enter a blackhole of analysis, never make a decision, and just end up paralyzing ourselves to the point where we make no decision at all. “Analysis Paralysis.”
We need to pray and seek wisdom from God, but then we need to commit and be decisive. We need to take that step of faith. We need to be focused on Him, be single-minded, and committed in our actions.
[Added notes and elaboration are italicized…]
Part of my prayer from…
Thursday, April 15th, 2021 at 6:12p. Bedroom.
Jesus,
Thank you for today. [Team member] was gone because she called out sick and I had to step into sales today and it was a great day. A couple of full deposits [full payments on scooters for future pick-up] and I felt on fire. I do love sales, I just don’t love being handcuffed to the business not being able to leave during the business day, etc. Things seem to be getting better… more customers, more sales/deposits, and more energy. So thank you for that. Though I’m very ready for the next chapter, parts of this business are still enjoyable.
Thank you for the small group at Greenhouse Business Leaders. I hadn’t really had the opportunity to dive into my situation deep with [a friend from that group] but had that opportunity today. Obviously, I’ve gone back and forth on what to do and [my friend] brought the verse James 1:8, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” to me and I’ve definitely been double-minded. I will plan for the following and know that if I’m off course, you will steer me back. I pray for this property to sell at $3.95 million [my counter-offer to the $3 million offer], but don’t want to go below $3.5 million. If it hits $3.5 million, I’ll sell and move forward. If it does not, I will move my focus to sales, marketing, and leading the team at New Scooters 4 Less.
This was the first time we “put a number on it.” As stated in previous blogs, a $3 million dollar offer was a blessing and more than twice what we had bought the property for. Who wouldn’t want to (more than) double their investment in such a short period of time? But still, I was unsettled. It wasn’t sitting right. So, after deep conversations with my wife, we finally put a number on it…
$3.5 million and we’d sell and be out of the scooter business.
Anything less, we’d know that it wasn’t God’s plan and we’d be staying.
A little more time would soon tell…
Today’s final thoughts…
The average adult makes 35,000 decisions a day. Many are automatic. We don’t even think about them. They are routine. Habits.
Others on the other hand are heavy, require a lot of processing and thought, and are a mental drain. Afterwards, we can’t even bear the thought of having to make another decision. [Side note: Steve Jobs used to wear the same outfit every single day simply so he didn’t have to make a decision on what to wear and could save that headspace for the big things he was doing at Apple. I find that rather interesting.]
In business, many leaders know the importance of making a decision and then adjusting accordingly. I really admire that. With that said, however, as a Christian business owner, I think there are a couple of extra key things to think about…
It’s important to know when to consult the LORD in our decisions-making. The LORD made me a steward of this property. The decision to buy it was life-altering. A decision to sell it was life-altering. I wasn’t going to make it without Him… Seek Him first. Ask Him for wisdom. Make the decision. Have faith.
My decision-making ability is strongest when I’m “in tune” with the Holy Spirit. Could you imagine being so deep in relationship with God that you “just know” what He would do in any and all circumstances? Now, that’s a goal worth having and one I need to do a better job chasing!
Some of the most powerful decisions I have made (and probably in those times when I was most in tune with the LORD) is when I made the decision to NOT make a decision at all.
God bless you all.
Collin
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