Is God Calling Me to Start a Business?Намуна

Finding Discernment

Finally, some good news. 

So far, we’ve heard some sobering, if not downright depressing, words about work. We’ve heard that whatever we do will eventually be in the hands of someone else, that the future of any company is completely in God’s hands (not our own), and that our own success depends a lot on the people we have around us.

At this point, entrepreneurship may be beginning to sound like a terrible idea. But don’t give up yet. In fact, if you’ve made it this far in this devotional series and you still want to start your own business, chances are entrepreneurship is definitely something God may have gifted you for!

Hopefully, before you start your own venture, these final verses that we’ll look at today give you the encouragement to go forward and explore what God has called you to do. Because whether you choose to start your own business or you decide to stick with your current job, you’re taking a risk, right?

The question is this: which way are you going to jump? 

What The Teacher reminds us here is that we can find satisfaction in our toil. Any toil. Notice he doesn’t say “You can find satisfaction in entrepreneurship, but you can’t find it in your corporate job.” Nor does he say that we can’t find any satisfaction in work at all.

The truth is we can find satisfaction in our toil when we first find fulfillment in God.

The lie that draws people unawares into entrepreneurship is that starting your own business will give you fulfillment. Here’s the truth: it won’t. You can create the most successful startup in the history of the world, but if you do it without a relationship with God, it doesn’t matter. It’s hevel—a vanishing whisper of smoke.

But if we invite God into our lives—into our day jobs, our startup, and everything in between—then we find peace. Neither starting our own business or staying in our day job will provide the satisfaction we seek in and of themselves. Satisfaction, fulfillment, and peace come when we realize we have a relationship with the Creator of the Universe, that He loves us, that He died for us, and that He rose again so that we could live in eternity with Him.

That’s the peace you’re looking for. Start a business or don’t. But whatever decision you make, know that what you’re looking for can only be found when we accept the gift of God—the daily, common grace that can be ours forever.

Further Thought 

• What are the areas of your life where you seek fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace? Is God a part of those things? 
• Write down some of your reasons for starting your own business. Is there anything on that list that a relationship with God can do for you?
• Spend time praying today and ask God for two things: wisdom amidst difficult decisions and faith amidst uncertainty.

If you enjoyed this reading plan, explore other resources for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs