Leading With Faith: 3 Ways to Put God First in Your Life and Business

For many of us, our faith is a cute little verse in our bio and the cross necklace we wear to church on Sundays. It’s the warm, cozy feeling when someone asks if we love Jesus.

Don’t get me wrong, these are all great things, and loving Jesus should be the top priority. As a leader in your faith, however, there is a more powerful stance than just the cute verses we post or the jewelry we wear.

Being a leader in your faith is real, raw and powerful. We are in a war, and we must claim the authority we’ve been anointed with in order to further the Kingdom.

Spiritual warfare is to be expected. Victory is already won and granted, and how you lead your life is the embodiment of that victory.

Your Faith Was Never Meant to Be Passive

We are called to make disciples in Matthew 28:19:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

We are commanded to walk with Christ and share the Gospel with the world. This is not a passive stance or something that just happens.

It’s intentional. It’s strategic. It’s bold.

Ephesians 6:11–12 tells us:

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

The way you lead yourself in faith is the armor of God. We are called to be equipped, and your business can be the embodiment of this. It’s a platform to share the Gospel and your chance to share the Fruits of the Spirit with the world.

We don’t do this to be saved because we know we are saved through grace and faith alone, but we desire to share Jesus with as many people as possible for the difference He can make in their lives.

I heard something recently from a pastor who visited our church. He said, “If I believe in heaven and hell, which I do, wouldn’t I want to share Jesus with them to help save them from death and eternal suffering?”

It’s not about what is popular or cool. We are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, which means we must understand our assignment and follow through with it.

So what does leading in faith mean in practical application for our lives and businesses?

Remember from Episode 1: Leaders know AND do. Not one or the other. The goal is to know the LORD and do His bidding.

I want to give you three action steps you can take to create a stance of leadership in your faith. Before we get into them, though, this is not all-or-nothing. Start as small as you need to with the intent of growing over time. Think of yourself in the crawling stage of your spiritual development, then stumbling before you are fully walking in confidence.

Step 1: Put God FIRST

It’s as simple as that. He is the beginning of your day, the end of your day and someone you call on throughout your whole day.

A couple of years ago, I made a vow to God to put Him first, and what He did with my life was unbelievable.

He grew my peace, my wisdom and my confidence in speaking about Him. He grew my patience in the waiting and the depth of my marriage. He grew my business, both financially and impactfully.

All because I put Him first through prayer, the practice of reading Scripture and the language I began to use about Him.

God doesn’t promise us blessings, but He does promise us peace and comfort within Him. His yoke is easy to bear. The more you intentionally place God first, the more you will be transformed, and the Fruits of the Spirit will really begin to transform you into the embodiment of Him.

Start Small and Let the Commitment Grow

I started small, reading a chapter or two per day. I used The Bible Recap to help keep me on pace, and the first time through the Bible it took me two and a half years. Since then, I’ve read the Bible in full every year.

All of this becomes easier with practice. It’s now a habit I look forward to and something that fills my cup, but first I had to make the decision to start and commit. That commitment grew with time.

I also started with small habits of prayer, and that’s grown over time too. The goal is to pray ceaselessly, as referred to in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, but we have to start somewhere and with intention.

When can you habit-stack prayer into your days? Maybe in the morning in the form of gratitude and appreciation, at the beginning of meals in blessing, or even closing the day in the evening as an expression of reflection on the day.

Leaders always create from a stance of intention and follow through.

So your first action step is to grab your Bible, or buy one if you do not currently own one. We want a physical Bible you can hold and highlight. Make a plan to open it every day, block it in your calendar and honor this meeting with yourself.

Pick times to pray just to start and get more comfortable with it. It begins with one step at a time, one day at a time.

Step 2: Surrender Every Aspect to Him

And when I say every aspect of our lives, I mean EVERY aspect. Abiding in Him doesn’t just mean the parts we want to share with Him. He wants access to it all.

I realized about a year ago that I always said, “Here is my business, LORD, bless it!” but I didn’t actually give everything over to Him.

I was still white-knuckling my conversations, compromising my boundaries and holding my finances with fear. I gave Him glimpses of what I allowed Him to have.

That’s not faith or trust, that’s control.

And when we are in control, it’s not good. We act out of fear, overwhelm, doubt and anxiety.

Take some time and ask yourself:

What areas of my life am I holding on to too tightly and/or not surrendering fully to Him?

Surrendering is an active stance, a choice we make each and every day.

For you, maybe it’s making a determination not to work on Saturdays or Sundays in order to fully worship Him. Maybe it’s beginning to tithe and trusting that God will continue to provide financially. It can even be creating a follow-up process knowing God will give you the words with those who aren’t responding to you.

Whatever you need to surrender to Him, now is the time to start, no matter how small the action.

Step 3: Do Something in the Name of God That Is Challenging

Make your business an offering to Him and share that with the world. Start a prayer night with other believers or non-believers, or join a fellowship to gain confidence in the Word.

Today, go to the LORD and ask Him to shine a light on an area where He wants you to step up. Sometimes the boldest of moves can be the smallest and simplest of actions.

For me, I was directed to rebrand my whole business to work with Christian mompreneurs. It wasn’t an immediate change. It was a small shift over about a year, and then my branding followed with a new website, logo and messaging. I got little signs from God through the people He was bringing me and His consistent reminder of being bold in my faith.

To me, being bold in my faith through my business meant sharing Biblical examples with all of my clients, praying at the beginning of sessions and speaking life into those around me while challenging them to rise and do the hard work.

Take a few minutes to brainstorm areas where God may be calling you to step out in faith. What would glorify Him, but also stretch you beyond your comfort zone?

Your Faith Grows by Beginning

This is your reminder today that your faith grows by beginning. You begin by opening Scripture and praying consistently. You begin by making a choice to surrender all the aspects of life over to Him, and you begin by being challenged to rise in your calling for and with Him.

How are you choosing to further the Kingdom today? This all starts with leading differently in your faith daily.

If you want to take this conversation on the go, listen to Season 4, Episode 2 of Fun, Free & Flowing™, where I walk through these three steps and what it looks like to lead your life with your faith.

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And if you’re ready to take these principles beyond listening and begin putting them into practice alongside other Christian women in business, that’s the work we do inside the THRIVE Christian Cohort.

THRIVE helps Christian mompreneurs become the leaders God is calling them to be. Faith is the foundation we lean on as we learn to lead our lives and businesses differently, and there is something powerful about doing that in fellowship with other business mamas who love Christ.