— by Zach Windahl

The following is adapted from Launch with God.

So often, when we want to embark on a big enterprise or start a business, we think we need something. We have to go somewhere. We have to study some subject. We have to meet some expert. We have to be better than we are now in some fundamental way. 

We assume something is missing, and that’s why we don’t have purpose.

I have suffered from these same assumptions, but these thoughts were just a lack of confidence in myself—and in God’s ability to bring the best out of me. I didn’t need another degree or a bigger platform. God placed everything I needed within me already to pursue my purpose. My experiences, skills, and passion were designed by God to show me the way forward. 

Your faith, talents, knowledge, and experience have prepared you for your place in God’s plan. You just need to understand what God is trying to tell you. You have a role in God’s story, and God has put all the qualities you need to play that role within you. So, here are five ways you can hone in on your divine purpose to become the entrepreneur that He created you to be.

#1: Listen to God’s Voice

In Greek, there are two words that mean “word”—the most basic component of conversation: logos and rhema. Logos stands for the whole of God’s revelation: His Son, His Book, His Spirit. These are the broad strokes of God revealing Himself to humanity. It’s like He’s using a bullhorn to address all of us with logoi that are timeless.

Rhema implies something far more personal. This is more of a whisper from God that guides not humanity but each person individually. The problem with rhema is that we can miss it. So pray to hear God’s rhema, and then listen closely as it lifts you up and directs you. Outside of prayer, we might experience rhema as a gut feeling. 

When our gut instincts line up with His wishes, things just start to come together. That person you could never get on the phone finally calls back to hear about your idea. An investor comes along eager to put some money behind your dream. Doors that were once bolted shut start to open up.

That’s God’s work in action. God speaks to us in many different ways. The important thing is to be attentive to all the ways He communicates and to meet His words with obedience. 

#2: Lean into Your Talents

If all we had from God was rhema, most of us would never achieve our purpose. It’s just so hard to know what is rhema from God and what is our individual preference. I pursued multiple careers thinking I was doing what I was meant to, but I was off course for years.

Luckily, God has given us more than a gut instinct for purpose. He’s provided us with individual, unique strengths.

People are always saying we should work on our weaknesses, but I disagree. I think we need to double down on our strengths—because those strengths are heaven-sent. He created us on purpose, with purpose, and with the talents we need to fulfill that purpose. That’s why you have strengths.

God didn’t create you to be good at everything, He created you to be incredibly good at a couple things—and to use those things you’re good at to live your purpose and spread the Kingdom. Focusing on your weaknesses moves you in the opposite direction from God’s plans. The talent God didn’t give you speaks as much to His plans as what He did.

#3: Emphasize Your Gifts

In addition to talents, God has provided all of us with spiritual gifts that allow us to positively impact the body of Christ in profound ways. These gifts can come in a lot of different forms. In the Bible, there are several lists of them, and while some gifts are clearly spiritual—prophecy, faith, miracles, tongues, interpreting tongues, healing, apostleship—many are not, like teaching, leadership, mercy, wisdom, and administration.  

Everything we do in life is spiritual.

Where do you see these types of gifts in yourself? Are you naturally a great explainer of complicated ideas to others? Does your faith often help people through their moments of doubt? Are you more adept at management and administration than anyone you know?

These gifts are meant to be used in God’s plan by aligning us with God’s wish that we love and take care of our neighbor. When clarifying your purpose, consider how you can channel your gifts into that purpose. If you are a musician with a gift for teaching, perhaps part of your purpose is to teach music classes for the disadvantaged. Or if you have a gift for administration, perhaps you help other bookstores with their inventory after you organize your own.

#4: Trust Your Experiences

I grew up in a household that seemed to be crafted in order to teach me all I would need to be an entrepreneur and writer. My father is a wise and successful businessman. My mother is an author. Faith was central to my youth as I witnessed God heal my mother four times from cancer. When you look at it like that, how could I do anything but write The Bible Study and start my own business?

God often puts experiences in front of us to prepare our souls for the great tasks ahead. This isn’t always a matter of a parent’s profession. It could be friends you meet, setbacks you overcome, or a teacher whose message really spoke to you for a semester in high school.

We’ve all had these formative experiences. Let these events act as markers in your life. Look for the direction they are pointing you and start moving that way.

#5: Dive into Your Passions

What are you passionate about? This may seem like an easy question for you. You know you’re passionate about baking or design or law or writing. But that’s not what I’m asking. Your purpose is more than your interests, it’s the passion you bring to creating a business that matters.

That’s where your passion comes in—not your passion for your talents or interests but for the things about the world that you want to see improved by God’s love and justice. God gave us His Son’s example because He wants us to be worked up about the problems in this world. He wants us to develop solutions to bring the Kingdom closer. And He wants us to work toward those solutions through our purpose.

What problems fire you up? What change do you dream of seeing in your lifetime? What cause is worth your time, energy, and dedication? Maybe you’re upset about global warming or the number of homeless we have in the country or human trafficking. That passion is crucial to truly fulfilling your purpose in God’s eyes, and it will give your business the direction you need for it to matter in God’s story. 

You Were Created For Entrepreneurship

Discovering your purpose isn’t always easy, and it isn’t always what you expect it to be. You doubt yourself, you question your passions, and you don’t take your experiences into consideration. But God has given you everything you need to hear His plan for you; you only need to listen.

Fortunately, doing these five things can help you to narrow your purpose and determine what it is God has created you to do. Understanding your faith, talents, knowledge, and experience will lead you to your business’s purpose and your business will work to advance God’s story.

If you do this right, you’ll experience the joy of walking in the freedom of your calling and living up to your God-given potential. All because you’ll have built something that matters—to you, to your community, and to God. God has a stake in your success. You are under His blessing. Earning that blessing is up to you.

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Author and entrepreneur Zach Windahl has helped thousands of people better understand the Bible and grow closer to God through his company, The Brand Sunday. He’s the author of several books, including The Bible Study, The Bible Study: Youth Edition, and The Best Season Planner. Zach lives in Miami, Florida, with his wife, Gisela, and their dog, Nyla.

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