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Overcoming the Enemy of Fear and Doubt

You can be sure that the Enemy does not want Christians to prosper in business or in any other way. Let’s talk about how to stand strong in times of discouragement.

As a Christian home based business owner, remember Who you serve. Paul writes in Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

There are certainly times in business when we experience loss: a lost contract, loss of a key employee or assistant, bad financial decision, or even betrayal of a friend. The natural inclination at these times is to allow emotions to influence our reactions and keep us in bondage.

Grieving loss is healthy and necessary and has its place. However, we can’t allow our minds to dwell in the valley when we’re committed to the call that the Lord has placed on our lives, placing us in a position of business ownership.

We’re called for His purposes and He has promised to direct our steps when our lives are surrendered to Him. Pray over your business decisions every day. There is nothing more powerful you can do than that.

Remain committed to providing the best service and value you can for your customers. When people know that we are Christians in business, we’re evaluated with a magnifying glass. Do everything above reproach and remain faithful to your highest ideals of why you started your business in the first place.

A strong faith is nurtured by spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Scripture reading and memorization, and Christian fellowship and relationships.

Remember, your business is not ultimately about you, except in the sense that you’re a servant of the Lord. Allow Him to prune you for more fruitfulness and don’t give in to giving up, even mentally. In fact, your thinking is a direct result of what’s coming from your heart, according to Proverbs 4:23 – “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”

The springs of life, that is the nourishing life-giving victory that Christ has for you. Remember Jesus’ words in John 15:7-8 – “If you abide in Me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”

Becki Maxson founded KingdomWork.com as a resource for the education and mentoring of Christian professionals and entrepreneurs.

We are proudly associated with Advantage Conferences, a truly Christian home based business opportunity. Visit today for your free gift!

This article may be freely reprinted online only in its entirety and with the resource box and links intact.

I am typing on my husband's laptop right now. You see, our computer crashed! We've had problems before but never anything like this where we can't even get to our main icons or anything.

My husband started working feverishly on it Saturday morning - knowing that I would need it soon for business reasons. By Saturday evening things weren't looking so hot. He'd managed to back up a few things but not everything and some were vital, vital files to me.

We decided to take the computer in to have someone else try and retrieve them for us.

I was really proud of myself at first. I didn't panic. I didn't throw a fit. I took everything in stride knowing that my husband was doing everything within reason that could be done. I even started preparing myself for a worst-case scenario of losing hundreds of hours of hard work.
Then Monday came. We hadn't heard from the computer guy, I hadn't had my computer all weekend, and I started getting frustrated as I saw time ticking away. I knew people were waiting to hear from me and I felt like my reputation was at stake. I put some pressure on the computer fix-it people. But before I came totally unglued... a thought came to my mind. "How long is too long?" I mean, I went Saturday, and Sunday with no computer and no way to access my business. Was Monday too long for me to wait to see if it could get fixed? How about Tuesday? I was astonished as I saw that I was basically giving God an ultimatum.

"It's been long enough. I'm losing time. I want things fixed now."
I didnt' like seeing myself that way. Because for the first time I realized that that's what most of us do on a regular basis. We hang in there for a little while when the going gets tough but then when it drags on for awhile - we basically tell God that enough is enough. But, what if it isn't enough for God? What if it's only during the "dragged-out" part that we truly fall to our knees in desperation to see what it is God wants to tell us? Are we too big for our britches to hang in there for the long haul? Are we only "troopers" for the length of time it takes to start making us feel truly uncomfortable?
So, I acknowledged that I was frustrated - but that this was reality and I might possibly lose a lot (a ton) (okay more than a ton) of hard, (personal) work...but life would go on. I told Satan that he may hinder me, but I would start fresh and start again. I prepared for the worst and started documenting (from memory) the best I could of who I would need to contact. I prepared to scour the web to find resources that I would need again. I resolved myself to deal with whatever happened the best way I possibly could.

Then, yesterday evening we got the computer back. They didn't get all the files I needed - but some. Okay, I thought. Some is better than none.
Then, last night I couldn't find my husband. I finally found him up in our kids' playroom. He'd done all this research and had hooked the computer up to an old computer for an extra hard drive and was searching for my files himself. And guess what? He found them for me! He stayed up till 12:30 am but he found them for me! He's my warrior. :) Now - THAT'S love. Not just love from my husband - but love from my Lord who worked in my husband's heart and who gave me the gift of my work back.

We are still working on getting our computer operating again. I will still be very behind on my business. But, God is good. He preserved important files and information for me so that I don't have to start from scratch.
And - He taught me a lesson. He showed me that I'm only a good sport until I get uncomfortable and feel like I've waited to long for an answer.

How long is too long for you? Because you know, for God, it might not be long enough yet. There might be something valuable you will miss learning, knowing, or hearing if you don't wait on Him and His timetable.
Don't give up on yourself and better yet - don't give up on Him.

Web rings are collections of sites connected in some way - by vocation, location or interest - that link back from the member's site to the ring. Thus, the ring provides banner and link swapping, sometimes resources of interest to members, and lots of free network advertising.

One way to get noticed by other sites is to write articles (which we do anyway!) and post them to compatible sites, preferably on RSS. You would have a contact line or two at the bottom, hence your site/email will be seen by those readers as well. For instance, I might write on "Avoiding that 'naked feeling' after taking down your Christmas decorations," and plug HGP and my "house call" service. I would submit it to decorating, organizing and women's sites. (Of course I haven't done this yet...!)

Working at Home

I started my journey “at home” about eleven years ago as we made the decision to homeschool our two children. Last year, when our youngest graduated, I began to seek God about what to do next. He brought me to a wonderful Christian home based business that I had the opportunity to do for a year, and then decided to move on to creating this site.

Working from home gives you such flexibility. It is great for moms and dads who want to stay home with their children, and need some additional income. It helps those who have retired, and would like something meaningful to do while earning a little extra money. A home-based business gives practical experience to kids who are homeschooled, giving them a great start in knowing how to run a business. It’s a wonderful alternative for anyone who just wants to have their own business and spend more time at home!

As you look into what home business is right for you, be sure to research it thoroughly. Ask questions like:

Talk to people who have done the business for a while and learn from their experiences. Finding out this information will give you a good basis to work from in deciding which business is best for you. Above all else, pray and seek God’s wisdom in what He wants you to do.

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Working at Home