Decision making in business, can be overwhelming and fearful. Some decisions feel small, like which task to prioritise, or which email to respond to first. Then there are the bigger ones, the ones that sit heavy on your heart or know it can be quite a changing decision.
Those decisions of taking on that new client, launching a new offer, investing or maybe it’s even if you should keep going. And as business owners, we are taught to move quicky – make the decision based on numbers, the market, or even what everyone else is doing.
Now, don’t get me wrong, as a business coach, I believe in strategy and looking at the numbers but as a Christian business coach, I guide my clients to look at it differently. Are we making decisions with God, or are we asking Him to bless decisions we made without Him?
It took me two years, to realize I was doing the same thing – so if you are, it’s okay! Here is the process I took and take with my clients to change that:
Strategy without God can become striving
There is nothing wrong with having a strategy. In fact, your business needs one. It helps you with structure and direction, but without God, strategy becomes striving. It feels forced, saying yes out of fear, copying what others are doing, being busy but feeling unaligned.
As Christian business owners, we are not called to build like the world builds. To just follow the next trend, any client that comes away -even if they are against our values, the next shiny thing. This means our decisions cannot be just logical – but needs to be spiritual.
Change your thought process, instead of asking, “will this make money?” we need to also ask, “is this aligned?:
Instead of wondering, “what would people think?” we need to focus on, “What is God asking of me?”
Prayer is a business strategy.
Sometimes we treat prayer as a soft part of our business, the quick mention in the morning, but prayer is strategy.
Prayer helps us slow down, have intention in what we ask and do. Its where fear gets exposed and where clarity starts forming. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us to trust the Lord with all our heart and not lean on our own understanding. Not some of our own understanding, ALL OF IT!
This includes all business decisions – your pricing, your marketing, your partnerships, boundaries, next steps, yes’s and no’s, it all. God cares about the details because He cares about you.
He gave you the decision, why would you not invite Him into the decisions that shape it?
Before you decide, pause
Sounds so simple right? But I think this is where we miss it.
We don’t pause, we panic, rush or overthink. We think with our bank accounts, or with the worry of falling behind. It’s in the pause, where the Spirit guides, and our flesh listens. The pause can save you from taking on the wrong client, launching something to early and most importantly, saving you from making emotional decisions in the moment of exhaustion and desperation.
Sometimes the most strategic thing you can do is be still – because in stillness, we listen.
You are not behind for choosing God’s way
I think sometimes we fear that if we pause, wait for God’s guidance, we will fall behind.
Behind who though? You are not behind because you are choosing alignment over pressure. You are not behind because you are making decisions with wisdom instead of what sounds good or like a great sales pitch. You are not behind because you are asking God first.
I believe strategy matters, but surrendered strategy matters more. You are not building a business for the sake of success – you are building something that honours God, serves others and carries a purpose.
So, the next time you are faced with a decision, small or big: pause, pray, ask and listen.
