4 Steps to Returning Back to Your Morning Bible Reading Routine
I’ve been dead broke, struggling to find clients, waiting for the mail man to arrive with a check from a client, desperate to deposit it before an employee cashes their check.
I’ve been rich, totally out of debt, money in savings, lots of business, and thinking about investing in property.
And...both situations above were within the same quarter of the year!
With a rollercoaster ride like this, we entrepreneurs could be considered suicidal and depressed in the same month as excited and hopeful!
What I’ve learned on my Godpreneurial journey is that JOY is the only feeling I need to be seeking. Joy is present in good times and bad. Joy is hope in God and trusting that he has my best interest at heart.
But....
How do you feel joy when the checks are bouncing?
How can I be happy when I haven’t paid myself in weeks?
God has a remedy: RETURN TO GOD AND CELEBRATE 🥳
Return to God? What do you mean, Alex?
I don't know about you, but my rollercoaster of emotions typically coincided with the amount of time I was spending with God in his word. If I'm meditating every morning doing my blog posts and connecting with my spirit, things around me seemed to be doing fine. If I was straying from my morning Bible reading routine, things around seemed to get a bit choppy.
My connection with God didn't change the circumstances in my business life; my connection with God changed the way I processed and reacted to those circumstances.
All of us entrepreneurs can wander far from the Lord – we can leave our first love and, fall into foolish sin - we can buy into various false personal development teachings from so-called business gurus, run our businesses in selfish pride and even keep the Lord Jesus standing outside the door of our businesses.
When we stray away from God's direction and take matters into our own hands, it's guaranteed that circumstances and situations will have a different perspective to them. No longer will you be as tuned into God's point of view, and instead, we'll be in our own heads trying to figure things out.
That's a recipe for the opposite of joy: misery.
In the book of Nehemiah, we see that Nehemiah had rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and many Israelites had returned to to their homeland following the nation’s 70-year exile in Babylon. It was the first day of their new year, the feast of trumpets, and the apostate nation of Israel stood in the city square and started to listen to Ezra the priest reading the Word of the Lord - he read from the book of the Law, that had been given by God to Israel.
Nehemiah 8:9-10 says
"Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”….. Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them."
As the people of Israel listened to God’s word being read to them, this errant nation as one man, realized how far they had wandered from their God – how deeply they had fallen into sin. Oh, at first, they started to rejoice, and cried out AMEN, AMEN, – but as Ezra continued to read the Scripture, they started to realise how deeply they had fallen into sin and how far they had wandered away from the truth of God’s word – and both men and women began to mourn and grieve deeply.
The people wept as they heard the scriptures being read, for they acknowledged their sin, but Nehemiah, the governor stood up and reminded the people that this first day of the new year was a special feast day of the Lord. He comforted them saying… Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Have you strayed away from your morning time with God?
4 Steps to Returning Back to Your Morning Routine
Like Israel, you should
Confess your sin and recognize how far you may have wandered from the Lord.
You should turn away from your wrong attitudes and actions and look to Jesus, for every day is a day that is holy to the Lord.
You should not remain in self-condemnation – but rejoice that there is now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus
You should follow the wise advice of Nehemiah – for the joy of the Lord is indeed our strength.
Like Israel, today is a day that is a feast day for us Godpreneurs! Jesus Christ has redeemed us by His blood and we have been released from the bondage of slavery to sin into the freedom of Christ’s saving grace. Like Israel, we should listen to the Word of the Lord, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Godpreneurs, imagine if all of us kept the Word of God fresh in our hearts each day. Let's all recognize our faults and failings and readily confess our sins to our Father in heaven – and, from this day forward, let's recognize that every day in our business is a day of rejoicing! Let's never forget that we are the people of God, who have been purchases with the precious blood of Christ - and that the many precious promises of God towards us, his sons and heirs, are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. Let us in everything by prayer and praise rejoice in the Lord and abide in His love – for the joy of the Lord is indeed our strength, through time and into eternity.
My Prayer
Father thank You that You are my joy and my strength in my business - thank You that there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus and thank You that Your grace is sufficient for Me. Keep me and my daily business operations faithful to You for You and my faithful and generous God – in Christ name I pray, AMEN.
P.S. I did a Business bible study called 40 Days to Restarting Your Business, God's Way. Check it out:
A business Bible study to help you rethink, reinvent, and restart your business, but this time, God's Way!
We parallel Nehemiah's rebuilding of the wall to your journey in rebuilding your business.
Also, coaches and Christian business leaders, you can use, edit, and repurpose the teachings for your own tribe! Check it out.