I don’t know how your revenue is trending, but ours is declining. Long-term declines typically lead to very hard decisions. The last thing I want to do is reduce hours, pay, or lay off team members. In the midst of feeling this weight, responsibility and stress, I read the following verse last week:
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
Paul’s model is clear: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Through this dependence on Christ, we will experience His “mind-blowing” (Paul’s description, my translation) peace which will guard our hearts and minds from worry’s destruction.
Take a moment to tell God what you need. Pray through your to-do list asking Him for His wisdom and direction in each task. Then, thank Him for His faithfulness in your life and organization.
I quickly found out this is not a one and done prayer. The morning I read the verse, I followed Paul’s command and released my burden to God. However, by that afternoon, I was once again feeling the weight of our declining revenue and how that could impact our company. By the next day, I had completely forgotten the verse and the peace God had given me. Fastforwarding several days to another devotional time, I wondered, “What was the verse I liked so much?” I flipped back a few chapters and reread the verses. That’s when the last part hit me, “as you live in Christ Jesus.” Living in Christ is a continual posture of prayer and dependence. Our worries are not something we can pray away in a single morning and never have to think about again. Living in Christ means we tell God our needs moment by moment, meeting by meeting, and decision by decision.
Think about it, if we were perfectly dependent on Jesus, our hearts wouldn’t experience worry in the first place.
The more we depend on Christ the more our leadership will be characterized by His peace–a mind-blowing peace. Reality check: would those closest to you say there is a “peace” about you? Is your leadership characterized in this way?
I have a long way to go. Thankfully, Paul is clear on how to get started.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” Colossians 3:15