Years ago, I lost a good friend and exceptional employee. He was 46 years old and died of a heart attack in front of me at work. Shortly after that, I lost another friend and employee of another dealership at age 42. He was in a motorcycle accident. We lost another great employee the next year. He would have turned 22 years old the next day, but he committed suicide. Sadly, these situations are not all that uncommon.
Are you prepared to make the decision to die for Jesus daily? Have you thought about the kind of gun-to-the-head situation that many Christians discuss as a way to test your true faith? Have you really prepared yourself for that possibility?
Most of us have not thought in depth about this. Maybe we have talked in one of our small group meetings about the future possibility of facing death for our faith. The truth is that most of us have no immediate threat of this facing us now or in the foreseeable future. Without an immediate threat, we really have no idea how we would react.
You are walking into a classroom and the teacher at the front of the room asks everyone to take a seat as she announces that she is handing out a test. Maybe it is a pop quiz or just a regular test that you forgot about. It really is irrelevant – you know you are not prepared. Immediately this sense of dread comes over you and you wonder what you will do. Then you wake up.
I am sure you have had the dream. Everyone has likely had it at one time or another, in one form or another. Some even experience it as a recurring dream. It is certainly not a dream that you enjoy having because of that intense feeling of dread that always comes with a knot in the pit of your stomach.
Unless you just enjoy that feeling, you hate these dreams. The one thing you know you would hate even more than one of these dreams is for this to happen in real life. To face a test in real life, knowing that you are not at all prepared, is a scary thought.
Even if this is true, what does it have to do with Christian business owners and leaders?
Actually, this dream has a lot of application in the lives and businesses of Christian leaders. Before we discuss that, let’s first take a look at Scripture.
Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-4
A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. – James 1:12
If you are not familiar with the first chapter of James, then you need to take a couple of minutes right now and read it HERE. As you can see, James starts right out talking about trials and testing of our faith. Then, in verse 12 above, he mentions the reward we will see when we pass the test.
If you have taken the step of faith and committed your life to following Jesus, then you are not a stranger to trials or tests. As Christians, we face them all of the time. In some cases, these tests are small ones. Other times, the tests seem like they are going to crush us.
What I am not sure most Christians realize is that these trials and tests we face daily are actually meant to help us get prepared for future tests and trials! And those are designed to get us prepared for more tests in the more distant future. It goes on and on!
Look at James 1:4 again. James says that that final goal is for us to be mature and complete, not lacking anything. In Romans 8, Paul says that God’s goal for us is to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus. That is a tall order!
To be honest, I am not a Bible scholar and cannot tell you exactly what that means. I do think I understand that the general idea is that God is using the trials in this life to mold us to look more like Jesus.
If that is true, then we really should face our trials with joy, knowing they are moving us closer and closer to the end goal of looking more like Jesus. While it sounds crazy, this really should be our approach.
Let me add another facet to this idea. Following James’ instruction to consider these trials as joy is not our only responsibility. As hard as that is, I think there is a tougher step we can, and should, take. This step may seem unrealistic to you, but I am sincere in offering it as heartfelt advice.
I believe we should pray for God to expose us to the full extent of the trials He has in mind for us. While this sounds like asking for punishment, I actually see it as a sincere effort to be fully prepared for a future test.
Just like the dream I mentioned earlier, we all hate facing a test that we are not prepared to face. In the same way, I do not want to face a future test or trial for which I am not prepared. If the trial I am facing right now is meant to prepare me for that future test, then I want to go through the full preparation I can!
That means I want the full extent of this current trial so that I am not found short later. I want all the preparation He has in mind for me so I am ready for whatever lies ahead.
Does that make sense?
If you understand my reasoning and agree with it, then this means your prayer life should likely change dramatically. Not only should it change your prayers involving the trials you are going through, but it should also change your prayers for others.
Rather than praying for God to lift suffering and stress from our lives, we should be praying that He gives us the strength to go through it. Rather than praying for relief, we should pray for endurance through the trial and understanding that we are being prepared for the future.
Assuming you are still following me with this line of thinking, let’s quickly apply it to Christian business owners and leaders.
First, we will face many tests and trials in the course of trying to run a business. The world does not like Jesus and every effort we make at spreading the Gospel through our businesses will be met with serious opposition (think Chick-Fil-A). If we are going to face these trials, then we really need to be prepared for them.
Second, while these trials may not be any tougher on us than what others may face, our trials often have consequences that affect many more people. If we are diligent in facing these current trials with the mindset of being prepared for future ones, we will have greater impact for eternity on those around us.
Finally, if we will face these tests with joy as James instructs, those that are watching us today will gain hope. Whether we recognize it or not, people are watching. Whether we like it or not, we have a responsibility as Christ’s ambassadors to represent our King in the best way we can.
I am really interested in your response – what are your thoughts?
Can you see yourself praying for the full extent of a trial?
Have you already experienced this? Tell us about it.
An impact player is someone who changes the game when he or she steps onto the court. You know the kind I am talking about. When it appears they may have been injured, the crowd gasps! The team does not want to lose them, even for a short time. These are the players that we all strive to be in our fields…at least that is what we say.
Recently, my daughters tried out for and made the local middle school girls basketball team. Now they are athletic, but they have not actually played organized basketball in several years. Soccer has been their dominant sport. In soccer, they have been impact players for years!
Last night, I watched something that surprised me. Last night was their first basketball game of the season. I truly do not know what I was expecting to see. Maybe I thought it would be a slight step ahead of the last time I saw them play (when they were 7, now they are 12). Maybe, I just pictured a cute game of basketball because dad’s think that way about their daughters. Regardless, I did not see what I was expecting to see.
I witnessed a game that was MUCH faster paced and more aggressive than I ever imagined! I was blown away. Because my girls had not played organized ball in several years, they were told to watch the first game and get a feel for the flow. I am glad he held them out of this game. They were simply not prepared. Neither was I!
After the game, we talked. They were frustrated with not being starters and not even getting to play. We discussed what they needed to do to catch up. They are so athletic and competitive that they can if they put their mind to it. Each of them can be an impact player!
Fortunately, we also have a friend that was a hometown hero and star on her high school girls basketball team. She still holds scoring records there after more than ten years! She has agreed to spend some time with my daughters, giving them some one-on-two coaching. She knows what to do and I believe they can do it. It will take work on their part, but I know they can pull it off.
So, what is the point to all of this? My point is that many of us go to work every day expecting to make a difference. If you are a regular reader of this blog, then I assume you also go to work hoping to impact people there for eternity. I will assume we all want to be an impact player that makes a difference in God’s Kingdom when we step into our everyday roles.
Let me ask you this…if that is the case, how are you doing at your preparation? What does your quiet time with God look like? How much time every day are you spending with your Lord to grow spiritually so you can fight the battle at the level it is being fought around you?
Would it have been reasonable for me or my daughters to have expected starting positions on the basketball team with little to no real preparation? Is it reasonable for you or me to expect different results in life?
How is it that so many people can go out on a day to day basis, expecting to change the world for Jesus, without spending significant time in Bible study, prayer, and one-on-one seeking of God’s will?
I guess it is understandable when we occasionally get off track and skip our quiet time or let it get stale. I know none of us are perfect.
What is not understandable is when we are shocked at the results we see! We are genuinely surprised when we trip and fall into temptation. We are stunned when things begin to unravel around us. We just don’t understand why the people we want so desperately to reach will not listen to what we have to say. Is this consistent with being an impact player?
How can this be?
In my next post, I will give you some suggestions on how to power up your ministry impact! In the meantime, I am going to leave you with these questions.
On a scale of 1-10, how would God rate your quiet time with Him? Consider quantity and quality!
If your score is less than you think He would like it to be, what are you going to do about it?
What is your very next step?