A Christian Entrepreneurs Guide to Meditation
Table of contents
Christian entrepreneurs operate businesses in an uncertain world. We choose to struggle to survive on our own or partner with God on a faith-filled adventure of uncertainty and dependency on His word. Without a practical way of connecting with God, we're prone to fear and stress. Thankfully, God designed us with a desire for worship and connecting to Himself, our creator. Meditation helps us entrepreneurs connect with God, which, by his grace, calms our busy brains for less anxiety and more enjoyment in life - the promise of heaven on earth.
Too good to be true? Nope! Both science and the Bible agree that meditation rewires and transforms our brains – for the better.
INTRODUCTION
I've heard that meditation is great. Still, as a Christian entrepreneur, I had two struggles: 1) I didn't want to be influenced by new-age spiritual philosophy, and 2) I didn't have hours every day to sit down in total silence.
So, I began to explore the science behind meditation and what the Bible says about meditation.
I discovered that I didn't have to compromise my Christian beliefs and become a monk searching for nirvana to reap the benefits of meditation.
The most significant discovery I made in my studies of meditation is that I had already been practicing a form of meditation by reading devotionals in the mornings. Don't devotionals provide us Christians with a great solution to many modern problems like stress and anxiety?
Well, that's the exact science behind meditation!
What is Meditation?
First, what is meditation? My idea of meditation was some Chinese philosophy of breathing exercises or some Hindu and Buddhist practice of repeating mantras.
However, when I studied the Bible, I noticed that meditation is contemplative prayer - a personal dialogue with God we have throughout the day.
The Bible says
Oh, the joys of those who …. delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. (Psalms 1:1-3 NLT)
For us Christian entrepreneurs, meditation is a mental exercise to break into the fruit-bearing season of prosperity that God has promised for us. And the most efficient form of meditation for us is to have a structured way of becoming aware of and reflecting on the things God wants to reveal to us for our businesses through His word.
For us, an excellent meditation practice is reading the word, reflecting on it, sharing it with people we interact with that day, and practicing it in our day-to-day business operations.
Meditation for Christian business owners is the process of identifying a problem we're experiencing, deliberately focusing on specific Bible verses or stories, and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the love of God and His desire for us to overcome that problem and live in the freedom of Christ.
The funny part that I'm writing about meditation is that
I had a problem: I felt I didn't know how to meditate
I went to God and the Word with my problem
God revealed verses and insight into meditation
I discovered that the way I was approaching my problem of meditation is, in and of itself, the art of Christian meditation 🤣
I can't help but laugh out loud at how amazing God is to those that love Him and serve Him!
This is how I've been solving my business problems since 2014. It's how I've come up with over 700 blog posts and 50+ business Bible studies. I've been meditating all along!
Gyms Train the Body, Meditation Trains the Mind
We all know the health benefits of physical training; doctors constantly encourage us to take up jogging, swimming, or weight lifting. And while physical fitness is good, the Bible says that godliness is of greater gain (1 Timothy 4:8).
How do we work on our godliness? Meditation.
Meditation Trains our brains to be more attentive to the things God wants us to work on. Our mental health and well-being are exercised through meditating on God and His word.
The Bible says
My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. (Proverbs 4:20-22 ESV)
Through neuroplasticity, scientists have proven that the brain can be reshaped. Think of the brain as a muscle that can be worked out and responds to training the same way our biceps grow when we do curls 💪.
In my Godpreneur Method Challenge, I teach about a meditative practice that I've been doing for years. It's a method I've used to give my brain a workout, and it's a practice I believe every Christian entrepreneur should be doing daily, Monday through Friday.
First, I have my quiet spot. I'm sitting in it right now as I write this blog post. With my coffee in hand, it's about 5:30 am; the house is silent, and I'm ready to connect with God for my morning business meeting.
Next, I focus on a problem that I'm experiencing in business. It could be an external problem (an issue with my business partner), an internal problem (I want to be more on time for my meetings), or a philosophical issue (why is your calling from God so important).
Finally, I'll begin researching what the Bible says about that problem. God is always giving us grace in areas of our lives so that we can approach these issues with awareness and faithfulness that He will see us through to the completion of that problem.
This is how I've solved every problem in business I've experienced since I started this meditative practice in 2014.
At first, you might be overwhelmed by the number of problems you want to bring to the Lord. Why aren't my clients paying on time? How could my business partner do this to me? When will this prospect buy my service? Why am I so stressed and anxious all the time? How can I experience a breakthrough in my marriage while running my business? And so on.
God designed us with a survival mechanism. He wired our brains to identify problems. Meditation is how we work through those problems to find solutions to keep on living the life he created for us - heaven on earth.
The more you practice the Godpreneur Method of meditation, the easier it becomes to calm your mind by solving one problem at a time. With a daily habit of working out your brain, your problems will come and go quickly, showing that your brain is working in the right direction.
The more you focus on connecting with God, the more pleasurable it becomes.
There is nothing more enjoyable to me than waking up early to write a blog post for Daily Godpreneur.
Think about it: I get to identify a problem I'm experiencing in business, spend time with God researching what His word has to say about it, share that solution with others, and apply it to my business to overcome the issue.
Come on…is that not what our Christian journey is all about?
And I've been able to master this habit to a point where I feel LOST in my day if I haven't connected with God in the morning.
Ok, fine…it makes sense that a dedicated Christian business blogger would have a transformed business from routine meditation – but what about the rest of us?
The good news is that you don’t need to go and start a blog and amass a following to reap the benefits of meditation. I've had members of my Godpreneur Academy start as beginners in developing the habit of daily morning devotionals. After just two months, they reported feeling less stressed in their businesses and with much more clarity in their calling.
When your brain knows that it has a plan for solving problems in business, it doesn't stress as much. Think about it…you're not as stressed about something once you know the solution, right? Once you train your brain that the solution to all business problems is in God's word, you naturally become less stressed.
The daily meditative practice of the Godpreneur Method doesn’t just reduce stress, though – it can also make business more enjoyable!
The more you focus on the task of waking up and connecting with God to solve issues in your business, the more pleasurable the process becomes.
The problem with most Christians that do morning devotionals is that they are just trying to rush through them to check them off their list for the day.
This is like eating an apple quickly just to finish the apple.
But if you stopped to focus on the apple while you eat it, the more intense the experience will feel. You’ll notice every aspect of the apple – from its waxy, smooth appearance to the sound it makes as you bite into it to its texture, taste, and smell. Is your mouth salivating right now? That's the power of focusing your mind.
Instead of quickly through your morning devotional, the meditative nature of the Godpreneur Method trains your mind in this kind of hyperawareness, which causes the brain to work out. This, in turn, makes waking up to connect with God more enjoyable!
When we're focused on solving business problems with God in our morning meetings with him, the activity of problem-solving becomes more stimulating and enjoyable.
Remember, the best-tasting apple is the one you’re thinking about! 🤤🍎
Meditation is the Key to Growing Your Business, God's Way.
A bank loan I'm waiting for makes me fret about the future. A project my company messed up on makes me linger in the past. I worry about tasks I've forgotten about, and I anxiously await the starting date of a new employee I hired.
Entrepreneurship makes it hard for us to be present at the moment - let alone enjoy it. Our minds are distracted, busy, and filled with uncontrolled thoughts. That's exactly where the enemy wants us: stressed out. Worse of all, we miss out on the things God wants us to experience that makes business ownership special and fun. However, it doesn't have to be like this.
God sent us the holy spirit as a practical tool to disconnect our minds from past and future thoughts to connect with the present moment that we're designed to live in. The holy spirit helps us replace our anxiety-ridden past and present thoughts with the Bible's peace-giving past and present promises.
The Bible says
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26 ESV)
We also read
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17 ESV)
The holy spirit is God's tool to free our minds. We accomplish this by remembering (meditating on) God's word. The key point I'm trying to make is that meditation is the key for entrepreneurs to connect with the holy spirit and live freely in God's gift of the present moment.
Becoming more connected to your holy spirit and the "heaven on earth" that Jesus promises won't happen overnight. But training your mind to be present with the holy spirit is possible - and the Godpreneur Method of meditation will train you on time, consistency, and practice.
Staying in the moment and knowing what "one thing" God wants you to focus on right now, can be challenging even on the least stressful days, but here's a challenge that’ll help ground you in the now.
It's called the Godpreneur Method Challenge. It's a 5-day challenge to show you the exact process I follow Monday through Friday that allows me to stay present and focused on the one thing God wants me to be working on.
Every day I'll start you off on how I prepare for my morning ritual, including prayer, worship, and breathing exercises.
Then, I'll show you how to identify an area of improvement God wants you to make in your business.
Once you're clear on what you intend to work on, I'll guide you on how to identify the solution through Bible study.
Finally, I'll open up my playbook on how I apply the solution to my business while also turning the lesson into teaching for others around me.
How does that sound to you? How different would your business life be if you developed a daily meditation habit? Would your relationships be different? Would you feel more significance, meaning, and purpose in the work you do? How would the trajectory of your entrepreneurial journey change? What impact would it have on you strategically, personally, and financially?
Don't judge this as a sales pitch. Stay present with your holy spirit. Does your spirit tell you that this is an area of your life where you need help? The whole point I'm trying to make is for you to fully engage with the opportunity that's in front of you as it truly exists without preconceived thoughts.
Once you finish the challenge, you'll be equipped with a tool that you'll use for the rest of your entrepreneurial career. And the more you practice the techniques; the more God will become part of every area of improvement in your life. That’s a sign that your brain is being transformed (Romans 12:2)!
And the more you give into this process, the more peaceful, relaxed, and content you’ll become in your business life, regardless of what's happening around you (Philippians 4:11-13).
If that's a challenge you're interested in taking, comment below, and I'll send you a link.