The Heart of an Entrepreneur w/Eternal Focus.
By First Lady, Tracy L. Williams
The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established. A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. ~Proverbs 16:1-3, 9 NKJV
Wisdom Is Better Than Gold.
Solomon shares in Proverbs 3:19, “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth and by understanding He established the heavens.” This is a powerful foundational scripture for every entrepreneur desiring to start a business and endeavoring to give God the glory. We are nothing without Him and can do nothing that lasts and has peace added without Him and His wisdom. HIS WISDOM is the key here. By His own wisdom He founded the earth and by His own understanding He established the heavens. I am talking about God – the all-knowing, all powerful - God in Whom we serve.
Wisdom - God’s wisdom is better than gold and all that we have or desire to acquire can not compare to this wisdom. I believe this wisdom that God shares in His word is for success right now and for the time to come. God is manifesting business entities here on this earth that are established in heaven. I believe these businesseswill extend into the new commerce of the new heaven and the new earth. He is downloading supernatural business plans in the hearts of faithful believers who love and obey Him. He is also bringing to our remembrance and stirring His zeal in us to complete steps needed to bring dreams and visions into manifestation that He has given in time past. It is not too late to obey.
The Spirit of an Entrepreneur.
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God,
Who teaches you to profit.” ~Isaiah 48:17 NKJV
The spirit of an entrepreneur was in us before we were placed in our mother’s womb, to create and to profit - to bless is in our DNA. It is the Spirit of the Lord in us – the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of divine counsel and the fear of the Lord. In the world (I am speaking of myself) I used this divine gift to the glory of the devil (unknowingly), but now in the kingdom of God, it is used to God’s glory – for true success mentioned with peace added. What good is it to be prosperous financially and have no peace? Peace comes from God, and He delights in our prosperity – when we prosper His way and according to His will and plan for our lives.
I cannot seem to get away from the spirit of an entrepreneur. My heart and my mind receive constant reminders of ways to live out the Blessing and be a blessing. As a minister, wife, mom, and grandma that desire to create and birth multiple ideas God has placed in my heart has never gone away. I have had many attempts but have found that the failure experienced while in the world (living a life without Christ) were great lessons and encouragers to prompt me to use my faith in the kingdom of God (now born again) to produce for God's glory. If I could birth a business over night (and I did exactly that to survive as a young single woman) in the world - surely that same tenacity would be used to birth kingdom business(es) ... in God's order and God’s timing.
In the world I operated from a wisdom that was not of God. I operated from my intellect, my work experience, my education, and who I knew. This wisdom is noted in James 3:15 as earthly, demonic, and sensual. The wisdom I operated before Christ in business was selfish, as mentioned above, strategies to survive. I went from management in the companies I worked for to having my own marketing company where I established contracts with major organizations – with teams trained under me; to my own production company, where I acquired properties and put-on high-level events with prominent clientele – there I also had staff that were trained to serve. These skills empowered by self-survival opened doors that remained opened for a while, but in a cruel world – where satan is the god – these doors would eventually close. I do not know if you have ever experienced a point in your life where it seemed that all was going well – bills paid, life is good, you even look good – but the rug was removed and you fell back down to where you were before - ideas stolen, relationships severed and contracts cancelled.
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. ~John 10:10 NKJV
I was missing the major business plan - wisdom that would last through eternity and cause lasting success - God and His wisdom, God and His instruction, God and His plan.
An Entrepreneur Thankful for JESUS.
Do not trust in oppression, nor vainly hope in robbery. If riches increase, do not set your heart on them. God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. Also, to You, O Lord, belongs mercy. For You render to each one according to his work. ~Psalm 62:10-12 NKJV
With a heart sincerely thankful to Jesus ‘daily’ for this new life - if I were to never write another book or build another business plan, I would be good, but I have come to understand as a king in the kingdom of God (Rev. 1:5-6) – God places desires in our hearts and He is pleased when those desires come to past. Ideas, concepts, and wisdom comes from above for us to use our faith (I call them faith projects) - opportunities to keep using our faith, understanding that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Also, just being ‘good’ could lead to being content and or lazy. Yep, I said it… lazy. Faith projects keep us in faith and diligent. As born-again believers, we are the diligent and the diligent are made rich (abundantly supplied). It is all by the grace of God that we accomplish all that He would have us to accomplish in any given day – to His glory. Kingdom business (es) are to the glory of God.
Focus Shift. First Things First.
As an entrepreneur we must keep our focus and priorities right. For me personally (some of you can relate) it is husband, family, ministry, and business – in that order. Found in 2003 by my husband and now pastor, Dr. Juan Williams, Sr., I truly experienced what it means to humble myself. I had to die to myself and forget those things that were behind me, laying down dreams and desires, to run with and help my husband fulfill vision given to him by God and assist in Kingdom business in the ministry. I could take no glory in past accomplishments as an actress, model, business owner, or high-end car salesperson - recognizing they really were not that prosperous anyway because God's wisdom nor was the way of the kingdom for prosperity in place. Right now, today, among many great attributes I continue to gleam from my husband one of those – which I know is the greatest - our lifestyle of faith. When God uses your godly, spirit-filled spouse to remind you of dreams or vision you have discussed with him, this is a beautiful agreement to keep moving or get to moving!
At times I would feel guilty (this was a stronghold that needed to be broken) because it would seem that my focus on the business (es) God placed in my heart would take my focus away from my duties from my family... but I've come to realize with my husband’s support and most importantly with God's direction I have more than enough time to do all things God would have me to do in any given day or night season - in every area. 'Feelings' and 'what it seemed like' can limit God from using us the way He chooses. Our five senses can also hinder us from obeying the wisdom God has placed in our hearts. I am encouraging in this article ‘Faith is now’ - faith does not wait - move in faith. We are the just and we walk and live by faith (Romans 1:17).
Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. ~Psalm 78:41 NKJV
Passion and Practical.
At times, our encouragers or our greatest support may not be present or busy with their own pursuits and this is okay for those whose trust and confidence is in the Lord. For me, I like to pray in the Spirit for lengthy periods of time. On occasions the Holy Spirit will lead me to pray in the Spirit ONLY during my prayer time – no confessions or declarations. Not only does this time build me up and encourage me in my most holy faith but it also causes a download to come from God of wisdom, direction, and instruction needed for each day’s tasks and goals. With the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, and the passion to write and share through literature, I have had the opportunityto establish a publishing company (the kingdom way) where I have authored and published five books. Now is the time to make those services and resources I have seen success in, available for indie writers (both authors and self-publishers). As a JBS (Joseph Business School for Entrepreneurs) alumni and with the successful completion of business courses at the University of La Verne I continue to use my faith to take the practical steps to continue to educate myself in the area of business placed in my heart.The Spirit of the Lord is in us as born-again believers, but we should also seek knowledge and stay in tune with current trends and technology to best market our God-given entities to the secular world. What God placed in us is global.
An Entrepreneur with Eternal Focus. The Ministry of Reconciliation.
I have shared all up to this point to conclude with what is most important and dear to God’s heart – the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17-21). In our every endeavor, the primary purpose, goal, and vision of any entity should be to reconcile man back to God. The ministry of reconciliation must be first in our hearts for lasting success and true peace in what we do. God is the heart-searching God, and He knows if what we do is primarily for self-gratification or if what we do (with the gifts and talents He has given us) is to advance His kingdom.
This ministry given by God to every born-again believer (not just five-fold ministry gifts) is the foundation that will keep the focus of the entrepreneur to build the ruin places, help the widows, care for the orphans, and to visit those in prison… with the financial increase received from their kingdom focused business. The heart of an entrepreneur should always have the end results of people changed for Jesus - not money. The latter will come if the focus remains on an opportunity to serve people – to encourage them, to educate them, to help them to advance (prosper), and to help them if needed – basically walking in God’s covenant promise to Abraham (as his seed and heir according to the promise) to be blessed and a blessing.
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ~2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NKJV
As ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ and Kingdom entrepreneurs at heart, let us remain mindful of the weightier matters operating from the spirit of compassion understanding clearly - the one sure thing we will see in the kingdom of heaven (and to eternity)- will be the souls we have ministered to and won to Jesus – they are His harvest. No more earthly awards, grants, or accomplishments noted - only heavenly crowns rewarded - that will not perish nor fade away. TLW