In the beginning God.  We love how the Bible starts.  We make it a point to pause at the word God now whenever I read Genesis 1:1.  It puts it all into perspective when we stop there, doesn’t it?  Rick Warren starts The Purpose Driven Life with the same thought, but he reverses it and says, “It’s not about you.”

It’s pretty easy to nod your head and think to yourself of course it begins with God, but that’s just paying lip service to the idea.  What does it really mean for us as Christian entrepreneurs to say our business starts with God?

Your Entrepreneurial Calling Comes from God

Our very first blog post was a review of The eMyth Revisited by Michael Gerber.  In his book, he talks about something he calls the entrepreneurial seizure.  It’s a great description of what goes through an entrepreneur’s head before they decide to start their own business.  But why does it only affect certain people?

He is only describing the symptom of something God placed in us before we even existed.  We all have been called to some vocation by God.  Jeremiah was called to be a prophet, but notice when he was called.

⁵Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

(Jeremiah 1:5, King James Version)

Jeremiah was called before he was even conceived.  Obviously then, our calling is not something that we choose, but rather something we discover and acknowledge.  Paul tells us that God was thinking about us even earlier than that.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: ⁴According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Ephesians 1:3-4, King James Version)

Somewhere in between “In the beginning God” and “created the heaven and the earth,” God chose us and called us to our particular vocations.  It’s mind blowing!

Your Vision and Purpose Comes from God

If God has already chosen us before the foundations of the world, it’s not a great leap that our purpose for being comes from Him too. In Jeremiah 1:5 above, we see that his calling was intricately tied with his purpose and vision.

Maybe there’s a deeper reason that we naturally tend to ask what someone does for a living as one of the first questions in any relationship.  We are all put on this earth for a purpose and God equips us for this purpose through our vocations.

There is a man named Bezalel who was chosen by God to craft the holy relics of the Israelites.  Not only was he chosen, but God filled him “with skill, ability and knowledge” through his vocation as a craftsman.

Your Resources Come from God

Here’s a good way to tell if your vision is from God – it’s impossible to accomplish without His help.  One of my favorite passages of the Bible is where Paul talks about Abraham’s faith.

²⁰He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; ²¹And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. ²²And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. (Romans 4:20-22, King James Version)

Abraham knew there was no way he could become the father of many nations at his age through anything he could do, so he relied completely on God to bring it to pass.  He understood what Paul would later write to the Colossians:

¹⁶For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: ¹⁷And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Colossians 1:16-17, King James Version)

It’s simply impossible to accomplish the vision God gives us without also relying on His resources to bring it to pass.

How Firm are Your Business Foundations?

When we truly understand that our businesses come from God, start in Him, and consist in Him then being a Christian entrepreneur takes on a whole other dimension.  We stop looking at the giants and start seeing the promised land.

When’s the last time you checked out your business’s foundation?  Are there cracks, or are you keeping it well watered and maintained with prayer?