Faith Venture Wisdom from Brother Lawrence

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I am a plotter and a planner. I love to develop strategies...to organize the future here in the present. I find that many entrepreneurs share this same skill set. A natural affinity towards strategy helps to overcome the uncertainty and risk natural to starting something new. But in the world of faith ventures, businesses started to create opportunity for individuals and communities rebuilding lives, strategy must be balanced by faith.

Today, that reminder came in the words of a 17th Century monk, Brother Lawrence:

“Because of this same trust in God’s care, when Brother Lawrence had some outside business to attend to, he never worried about it beforehand. Rather, he found God would give him a picture as clear as a mirror image of exactly what to do at precisely the right moment. He had acted in this way for quite some time, without being concerned about something ahead of time. Before he had experienced God’s swift help in his affairs, he had attempted to plan every detail, doing the job in his own strength. Now, though, acting with childlike simplicity in God’s sight, he did everything for the love of God, thanking him for his guidance. Everything he did passed calmly, in a way that held him close to the loving presence of God.” (The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence, p. 20)

It’s a fine line between responsible strategizing and unnecessary worry. And if you are following God’s call to start a faith venture business to create opportunity for disadvantaged individuals or communities, you will run into circumstances where you need to rely solely on faith. Brother Lawrence is right to remind us that God will show the way at just the right moment.

I promise you that over time in a faith venture, you will experience “God’s swift help.” That will give you confidence to trust God’s strength and to do everything for His love.

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