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Part
Three:
Principles for Success
This
book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but
thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou
mayest observe to do according to all that is written
therein: for then thou shall make thy way prosperous,
and then thou shall have good success.
-- Joshua 1:8
There are many
principles in the scripture which direct us how to conduct
ourselves to achieve success. As we focus on putting
old failures behind us and seeking new successes, there
are three principles I would like to recommend that
you consider.
Principle
One: TITHE
Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits
of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled
with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new
wine. - Proverbs 3: 9-10.
Use whatever means
the Holy Spirit leads you to use in determining your
increase, and give your tithe (one tenth) to honor God. Your tithe can be in the form of a cash donation to
your church, to a specific ministry, or to a community-organization
that you want to support because of their mission. Giving
will make you feel like a success, because you will
be doing what God wants you to do. However, there are
many ways to give beyond your tithe.
For
example, if you run a floral shop - you could easily donate
potted plants or fresh cut flower arrangements to a nursing
home, hospice, or church. If you provide services like financial
planning, you can donate your time and expertise as well. Helping
at a women's shelter or offering a presentation to children
through a mentoring or after-school program are alternate ways
to give. Please consider your talents and abilities as your
"substance and first-fruits" from God and tithe from
those increases well.
Principle
Two: WORK PURPOSEFULLY
Not
slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
- Proverbs 3: 9-10.
God does not want us
to be lazy. Neither does God want us to be overburdened. If
you have established set hours for your business operation
or if you work according to specific tasks that need to accomplished,
be diligent and be faithful to get the work done, but remain
flexible.
In other words, seek balance. Some days you will
be more productive in your eyes than on other days. If you
work for yourself, the biggest challenge may be the days when
you don't feel like doing anything specifically work-related. Or,
on some days it may seem that although you are on the job
and applying yourself industriously, you run into stumbling
blocks at every turn and that you are just spinning your wheels.
Everyone has days like
these. But if you are prayerful each day about the purpose
God has established for that day, you will see your productivity
increase. It may be that God's real purpose for you that day
was to take two hours to comfort a friend or to attend an
event at your child's school. There is purpose in the work
it takes to be a good a wife, sister, mother and friend. So
don't discount the purposeful work of exhorting, comforting,
praying, nurturing, celebrating with, and loving.
Principle
Three: PAY ATTENTION TO THE SEASON
To
everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose
under the heaven: - -For there is a time there for every
purpose and for every work" - Ecclesiastes.
There are annual business
cycles (seasons) that we all acknowledge like tax season.
But there are also specific seasons for your particular enterprise.
Pay attention. For example, if you provide food service products
there may be set times for your customers to receive your
delivery. Trying to deliver to a restaurant during their noon
rush is not working in season. You would be frustrated and
the manager or owner of the restaurant would be upset or even
angry that you didn't follow an established rule. That is
a very simple example.
But, let's suppose you
are considering taking on a new client or you are being offered
a big project at work. Is it the right season? Are you too
overburdened with other responsibilities to handle this assignment
effectively? Should it be rescheduled for a season when you
have more time and financial resources to give to the project?
Can you divide the work into phases, tackling each sequence
in order?
It can be hard to say no to anything that gives
the appearance of success. Focused, determined women usually
don't like to hear no, but sometimes no (or not right now)
is the answer God is giving us and therefore ultimately the
best answer for us. We may reap a small reward (like picking
a crop before most of it has matured), but we will not get
the full measure of gathering until the true harvest time.
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