After a few years in business I became dangerously comfortable. This was because I had implemented some effective new business strategies a few years back. Mistakenly, I felt it was all God’s responsibility to do the rest. The worst part is I hid behind faith as a means to justify this slothfulness. Let me explain.
I’ve aways tried to improve my walk with the Lord and make the most of every trial and blessing. When I started my business I prayed and worked hard to generate work. As the years went by I felt I needed to rely more on God for the success of the business. I continued to pray and work. Looking back, I believe I reached a point of burn out. That’s when I took a wrong turn.
As the weariness settled in, I looked for easier ways to generate business. I found this through SEO ( Search Engine Optimization). The market was prime for me to take advantage of this and I did. As time went by however, I never worked as hard as I did before. Little by little, the leads started to drop off. I blamed the economy, not enough prayer, little faith, etc.
Reckoning
One day however it all caught up with me. All of the leads dried out and for the first time in a long time I looked at my ranking and search results. The company had dropped form a once high of top 5 into 17th place. To make matters worse, all of the networking contacts I had were now long gone. As I read through Mathew 25:14-30 I realized I was a wicked servant. God had given me the talent, the ability, the resources and I squandered the opportunity. I had hidden all this away and not worked for it. It was now time to repent and renew my commitment.
Encouragement:
God is a God of mercy and forgiveness. I’ve since repented of my slothfulness, prayed and embraced the challenge ahead.
Challenge:
What areas in your life have you not used your talents wisely? This could be your family, money, time, relationships, resources, etc. God has given you.
How will you repent and start “investing” in these for His glory?
