What God Says About Business (Be PATIENT)

Welcome back to the Brand Builders Podcast. Today it's going to look a little bit different. We're actually going to be doing a little bit of a devotional, and so I think it's important to bring this stuff up and bring the Bible into our businesses, into our everyday lives. And so, so today's scripture is 2 Peter 3:8-9, and I'm reading out of the ESV version. And so it says, but do not overlook this one fact Beloved, that with the Lord one day is, is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. And so today's scripture is talking about being patient.

Oh, that's a hard topic, but we're gonna dive into it today.

Yeah, so I think patience is one of the biggest things that I've had to work on the last 4 years, especially when building a business, when, um, buying a house, having a mortgage payment, paying all these bills, getting married, and getting responsibility, especially as a man of the household. Patience is one thing that I have had to grow in the most because there would be times I'd be like, Lord, why are we still struggling with this problem? Or why do we not have this much money? Why, why are we not in this place? Why are we not doing this thing? And so that's something that I've been working on and praying about, and I'm sure many of you have as well. So that's what we're going to be talking about today.

Yeah, so I was talking to Darren, he sent me this topic earlier, and he was like, do you have any stories or scriptures that you feel like could tag on to this? And I just— one of the immediate places in the Bible, it's in Genesis, it starts in chapter 12 and it goes to about chapter 21, and it's a story of Abraham and Sarah, and it's a pretty wild story. And so, um, God basically— like, I'm gonna summarize it for you, um, it's pretty cool. So God had promised them a child, Abraham and Sarah. If you haven't read this story, old folk, right? Abraham's like 75, Sarah, he's, he's older. And Sarah, her entire life had been kind of looked down upon because she had been barren, which meant she wasn't able to bear, um, to have children. And so society in that time, if you weren't able to have children, then that was looked down upon. And so her entire life she had yearned for a family, and Abraham had, and God kept telling them, be patient, be faithful, you'll one day have a family. And I'm not talking about waiting 2 weeks. I'm not talking about waiting a couple months. Like, they were waiting decades. They waited their entire life. And I can't even imagine, Darren, just the realness of God being so direct with you. And this time God was speaking to them like directly, and he was like, you are gonna have children, you are going to have this, but it not coming to fruition in our time or what we see. And so when we think, oh, well, God's gonna, you know, fulfill this promise, I don't know, my mind thinks, okay, I'll wait a couple of months, I'll be patient. But no, like, this miracle took years and years. And one thing about the story that really just like I feel like it's so real and we can talk about it in the business world, is they got impatient and they tried to do it in their own way. And so anyway, Sarah got a servant and was like, I would like you to go out with my husband to bear a child because we want a family so bad. And I think it takes a pause right there and it's like, cool, the Lord gave us this promise, but it's not happening yet. So we're going to take matters into our own hands. And so I'm thinking of like business or whatever, man. We're like, man, this month's been low. Or like that client just isn't turning over that we've been constantly pursuing. And you can get kind of like discouraged on yourself. And we try to take matters into our own hands and we try to make it our will, our way, because we need this or we think that we need that instead of fully trusting in God's plan and surrendering our actions to that. Like, if we're truly being obedient to God and he's saying, I've got you, and he's given you this plan and vision to do the business that you're doing, then we have to learn how to fully trust and surrender. God, if you're calling me to do this, then I'm gonna walk faithfully, even if it doesn't happen in the first 5 years. Yeah. Oh my gosh. And back to that story, it was decades upon decades and upon decades. And the way that story ends up wrapping up is eventually, like, God he— the— the promise was fulfilled with their son Isaac. And they were old, I'm talking like maybe 100, and Sarah was able to bear a son. And that's just a crazy miracle. And so I don't know, what do you think about that, just hearing that story?

And I mean, to relate it to like modern times, even for example, like it's always been something that I wanted to do is obviously, I mean, there's lots of things that I want to do, but it's not the right time. Like, I had always wanted to start a business. There was 2 times that I— oh, 3 times that I tried to start a business before what I'm currently doing, and it didn't work out. And I was like, okay, what, what the heck? Like, I have this passion for business and being an entrepreneur, but it's not working. Um, and so like, and I don't know what 5 years is going to look like from now either. And I think it's just important to realize that it may not be the right season season for whatever that thing is, or it may be the season. And so I think that's where you're gonna have to just have a lot of discernment and wisdom and continue to stay in prayer, continue to stay in conversation with the Lord, because he'll reveal that to you whenever. Hey, really quick, I wanted to let you guys know about a 5-day challenge. It's called 5-Day Build Loop Video Challenge that we put together exactly for you, because if you're watching this, you're probably an entrepreneur a business person or a creator who's looking to monetize. And so if that's you, there's going to be a link in the description. We're going to be going over all of the things that I've learned and took away over the last 4 or 5 years to figure out how to make content work for your business and not against your business. And so for us, this is how we get about 90% of our clients within our business, and it's 10x, sometimes 100x our engagement and views. And even leads. Same exact thing goes for all of our clients. And so if you're interested in this, click the link below and apply today. There's only a limited number of spots because it is one-on-one. And so hope to see you in the challenge. Let's get back to the episode. It's time.

Oh my goodness. And looking back, like, God protected us from so many things. And at the time it was frustrating. We were like, God, why isn't this happening for us? Why is this door not opening? And just questioning all these things instead of trusting and fully believing in God's timing is perfect. And I feel like you may see that on a Hobby Lobby sign or a t-shirt, but truly, like, he will protect you and keep you from things, not because he's an evil God or wants you to suffer, but because his plan is higher and his plan is greater, and he's got something higher for you in store. And it's so easy for you to say, for us to say, because in those trials, let's just be real, we didn't handle it with much— I don't know, I feel like we didn't—

to see in hindsight.

Yeah.

Um, than it is in the moment. But I think the more life that you live, the more experience that you have, the more, uh, you mature in your walk, the more, the more apt you will be to seeing what it is, like big picture, what is going on. And so that's where the discernment comes into play. I think Another cool example of patience. So first of all, the Lord is very patient with us. Yeah, a lot of times, like, I think about how I love my wife and how I love my daughter, and it's nothing compared to how he loves us. And so we all screw up. We don't— sometimes we don't read the Bible, sometimes we don't pray, sometimes we choose to do other earthly things. And for even for months at a time, sometimes years at a time, Yeah, and he's just sitting there patiently waiting for us to come back.

And so yeah, he never turns our back on it. He never turns his back on us.

And I think that's just an example of great patience. Another, another example is Jesus didn't start his ministry until he was 33 years old, something like that. Yeah, or maybe, you know, 30. I think it was 30. And so I just think like, Jesus, is this—

the ultimate dude, God in human form.

And he's living for 30 years without preaching the New Testament ideas because he knew there was stuff that needed to happen before that time came. I think there was things that he knew that he had to walk through.

Yeah, well, think about his mom. Like, his mom was like Jesus, like, you can do these miracles. And he says, the time is not now. Yeah, he knew. He was like, even if he was able, he was like, it is not time. Or like when he would heal someone in the Bible, in scripture, he would heal them and he said he wasn't wanting all of this attention on him for the miracle that had happened. He was like, go back and say nothing. Wow.

Like, and living in, in a fallen world for 30 years, knowing that you could heal all of these people in the blink of an eye. You could completely change the path, which he did, but he did it in a way full of grace, full of patience, and full of joy, honestly. And, and it's just a good example for us of what to do and how to handle situations. It's like, don't force things. Don't, don't chase what we call the woman in the red dress. Like, in business, it's whenever you go chase squirrels that if you have a video business and you go and try to start a random clothing boutique because you saw somebody do it on Instagram, like, stop. That's a whole other conversation. But just being patient and being content with where you're at, but also having a vision of where you're going in the future at the same time, I think is really important as a business owner and as a leader.

I want to take a second and talk about patience and being lazy. And you may be thinking like, what do you mean by that? But I think some people, whenever you say, well, just be patient, you think sit back, wait, listen, and don't have any action behind it. But I feel like you can actively be patient. Like, um, right here it says patience equals consistently showing up and not sitting back. And so like, if you are in a season where you feel like you're waiting and all that, that doesn't mean that you don't have any work to be done.

That doesn't mean you sit on the couch and eating potato chips and just—

yeah, God may be using that season to grow you, and instead of being grown and learning and, um, becoming smarter and all the things, like, you're missing out. Whenever that season he intended for you to be growing, you're being lazy.

Yeah, absolutely. And so this is a quick episode, um, and that's really what we wanted to bring today. Be patient. And just continue to model what Jesus did because that's the way, that's the way you're going to win. That's the way you're going to have a fulfilling life, and it's not easy ever, and it's probably going to get harder, but the fact that you have the foundation and you're giving the burdens and taking the weight off your shoulders and giving it to Him makes it just a little bit easier when it comes to dealing with the situations that come up. And so be patient, be bold, and continue to lean on him through everything.

Yeah, so I really feel led to end this episode different than any of our other episodes. Normally we tell you where to find us, where to find the person that we're interviewing, but today I would love to take an opportunity and just pray over you guys. So whoever you are as a listener, wherever you're at, um, if you just take this moment with us and I'd love to pray over you. Father God, we love you and we're just so grateful for today, God, and I'm just so grateful for the listener that is here here today that maybe they didn't know they needed a reminder on patience and just waiting, and that being patient in the waiting seasons aren't empty, God, but they are purposeful, and you are teaching us and growing us in ways for something greater that we can't even see or understand yet. God, thank you for the listener, and thank you for the vision that you've given them. Um, I know a lot on this channel we talk to business owners and stuff like that, so I just thank you, God, for, um, what you've given them and just the seed that you've planted in their heart to do whatever you've called them to do, God. We love you and we're grateful for you. And that's it. Amen. Amen. Amen.

We will see you guys on the next episode of Graham Brothers Podcast. Peace.