Learning How To Integrate God into my Business
I’ll be honest. Learning how to integrate God into my business was not something I knew how to do right away. I mean..when you first hear from God, it’s kinda weird..right? Or is it just me?
There’s a part of me that was kind of like..uhhh, God is this really you? Ok ok, how about one more confirmation? Ok...how about another one?! Ok...I’m sorry buuuut..I’m still not sure..can you give me another one?
No for real, that’s how I am almost on a daily basis.
So I’m not going to tell you how you need to integrate God into your business.. but I’m going to share with you the steps I took to better learn His voice. Cuz let’s be real, the Holy Spirit will do a much better job of being the Holy Spirit than I ever will.
For those that are slightly on the fence about sharing God’s Word and don’t want to fall into social awkwardness.
Atheist Penn Jillette once said, “How much do you have to HATE somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”
This article can be found here. But long story short, he’s pretty much saying you’d have to hate someone to not want them to go to heaven if you truly believe that eternal life is possible.
Ok, now to the good part!
The first couple of steps may seem ‘woo woo’ to some, but I promise you, I promise you, I promise you. They are three most important ones and are life changing.
And here are a few reasons why these have to be done first:
-Internal transformation has to take place for the fruit to come out.
-Your public praise of the Lord should always be rooted from a private dedication.
-An external act without internal transformation is religion, not relationship.
3 Things That Helped Me Get My Heart Focused
Worship
I used to never really understand worship. Like..what was that anyways? Is it just listening to some songs or singing along? What did it really do for me? It turns out..the reason it never did anything for me before was because I was so caught up in the song or the action that I didn’t have my focus right.
Worship, with the focus on God instead of the action, helps your heart get centered on God. It declutters the distractions.. which Lord knows as a creative, I have many of them. It helps me stop thinking about my day, what I have to do, and instead realize who God is. A sovereign yet merciful ruler. It wasn’t til after my heart started actually feeling peace that I understood why we always worshiped in services before they shared the message. It was so that I would better receive it because my heart’s been warmed up and prepared.
Prayer
Another honest moment. Ughh, I had nooo idea how much prayer could transform our hearts. Like, for real for real! I mean, I didn’t come from a Christian background and I used to be sooo religious. So I would say my prayer, thank Jesus, but it never meant anything.
When I started to open my heart out to God and not be afraid to be honest..tell Him how scared I am to publicly share my faith with the virtual world, how unworthy I felt, and how inadequate I feel sometimes..how insecure I get, or even how frustrating it gets when I feel misunderstood. When I feel like I’m not getting anywhere.
Hey, I said I was going to be real.
So here’s a few things I had to pray for. More than anything, I had to pray for the courage to give my heart completely to God. I had to ask for awareness (cuz I’m naturally oblivious), and the humility to know that I can’t figure everything out on my own. That my strategies may good, but His ways are always better than my ways. The strength to persevere because this wasn’t going to be a sprint; and it’s often endurance that I lack - especially with how lonely being an online entrepreneur can get at times.
Your strengths and struggles may be different from mine..so you don’t have to pray the same prayer I did. But I want you to know that you can be completely honest with God and that your prayers don’t have to be fitted in a nicely kept box of how church may make it seem at times.
Reading His Word
I don’t want you to start feeling like you have to read the whole book. Yes, it’s a great accomplishment, but knowledge means nothing without revelation. So take this in ways that is good for you. What matters more is not how much you read, but how much you meditate on it. Just soak up His Truth and let it stir the passion in you.
Alright nooow here’s the thing. God calls us in different ways. We’re all called to share and speak the gospel, but our approach and the doorways God uses will often vary.
They usually accommodate the spiritual gifts He’s given you, your strengths and more. I heard in one of the devotions I listened to, and it’s stuck with me since, that function came before form.
What does that mean?
It means that God already knew what you were called to do before He even created you so that the way He created you is the best way to fulfill your calling.
3 Things You Need To Know
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Know your spiritual gifts
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Everyone has talents and gifts because God loves them. But spiritual gifts are given to you as you develop your relationship with God. The stronger your relationship with God is, the more He hones the spiritual gifts He’s planted inside of you. Take your spiritual gifts test today to get an idea of what they are. If you’re still developing your relationship with God, it doesn’t hurt to take it now and then just retake it later again! :) P.S. This link is totally from my church; they encouraged each of us to take it as well, so, many thanks to Bayside!
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What are your strengths or tendencies?
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Once you know your spiritual gifts, being aware of not only your strengths but also your tendencies and habits will help you connect the dots in what God is trying to do in your heart and what He’s trying to do through you. Some of our tendencies at times counteract the spiritual gifts He’s trying to grow in us. Awareness in those areas will help you know how to start submitting to God.
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How do your strengths and tendencies relate to your spiritual gifts?
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Alright, so I can’t say that everyone’s strengths and tendencies correlate with their spiritual gifts. Usually, they do. But there are times that they don’t. Even when they don’t though, there’s still a way that they’ll connect with each other. Knowing how your strengths and tendencies connect with your spiritual gifts can help you better prepare and position yourself to be used by God.
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Alright, a little side note. Regardless of what you get on your test, I want you to keep this in mind.
What your audience needs isn’t someone who sounds like a preacher; what your audience needs is someone who has wholeheartedly given their heart to God and is transparent about their flaws.
The reason I have to make that clear is because sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking we’re not qualified to share the gospel. So I want you to know that you don’t need to have the perfect message; all you need is a heart for Jesus and the willingness to be transformed as well as share no matter how ‘big or small’ it may look.
The biggest things that keep people from reaching Jesus inside the church is our mask, and it’s even easier to put on a mask online. So don’t be afraid of letting your people know exactly where you are at in your walk. To me, that takes more courage than biting into the temptation of trying to have it all together.
Starting Off Small
Often times when we want to integrate God into our business, we immediately think to the ‘larger scale’. Which is noooot bad at all. I want you to dream for God’s Kingdom! I want you to act in faith knowing God is going to use you for GREAT things.
But I also want to address the small things that people often don’t feel like are enough. Because the truth is, every little thing can have a huge ripple effect you’re not even aware of.
I’ll also say this, one life transformed matters more to God than we can ever imagine. So don’t think that just because yours isn’t seen as a ‘grand scale’ by others that what you do isn’t significant.
Here are a few ‘small’ ways to integrate God into your business.
What are some of your favorite resources for devotions?
Here’a list of some of my favorite resources and devos that help me throughout the day. I tend to switch through them daily, giving God more doorways to speak to me while staying focus on my relationship with God rather than religion.
What you can do through social media:
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Share a quick insight you got
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Share the verse
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Share something that you feel like God is doing in you or speaking into your heart
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Use the hashtags that some of the devos encourage. #First5 always appreciates that.
Here are the social media links to some of them:
Do you read blog posts that reflect Christian values? Or maybe you read blog posts that have devotions. Why not share some of those and integrate them as part of your social media posts, daily?
Bonus points if you share posts from those in your community! What better way to not only share a good word to others, to support those who are obeying God’s call. Can I be honest with you? This is one of the most overlooked ways of encouragement, I feel like. Because we don’t often think about how discouraged some of these bloggers can get from time to time.
Obeying God’s call is not always an easy task. We’ll have different forms of internal struggles. And sometimes, though we don’t always know it, it’s the people that are sharing things about their faith that need encouragement the most.
After all, they’re people too. They get discouraged just like everyone. Especially when you feel like no one understands.
If you’d like to go deeper, refine your messaging a bit more and get an idea how you can start integrating your faith as part of your brand message, click below so I can send you the workbook and 3 part audio series.
Sarah Camille Anarna
Actress, dancer, creative storyteller empowering women to embrace their identity, serve with passion and leave a legacy through branding and social media. Blessed with an anointed man.
