How to Replace Passive Willfulness with Faithfulness and Find True Joy in Your Calling

If you’re anything like me, you started your business because you have big dreams, a vision for your life that looks nothing like it did when you started. Many of us start businesses to provide for our families, escape generational poverty, or leave a legacy. Some of us simply love the sense of achievement that comes from overcoming obstacles and creating value for customers and employees.

As Christians, we’re also driven by a sense of calling. Deep down, we know that God has a specific plan for our lives that we just can’t realize through a traditional nine-to-five corporate job. God nudges us toward entrepreneurship in order to fill unmet needs in the marketplace – in other words, to love others and contribute to His kingdom.

In my case, I started my content marketing business because God has called me to write. As I spend time in prayer, I often hear a single word: “Write.”

As I considered shifting careers four years ago, I thought, “What better way to step into this calling than to start a content writing business and pursue creative projects on the side?” All I needed was a laptop and a WIFI connection, and I’d have the flexibility and financial freedom to pursue this dream. And so, in 2019, I left my nonprofit job and struck out as a content marketer with a brand new LLC.

Big dreams, however, can be easily derailed by willfulness. And that’s what happened to me.

When I hear the term “willfulness,” I think of a brash and stubborn person who charges ahead into risky situations despite warnings. Think of Saul who ran into battle even though he was told to wait for Samuel. Or think of homebuyers in 2007 who bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford only to see their equity vanish once the housing market crashed. This is called active willfulness.

But willfulness can also look like paralysis. In my case, I dug in my heels and refused to give God full control of my life. I disobeyed through inaction. This is passive willfulness, and passive willfulness eventually undermined my business and made it feel like a prison, not a calling.

Moses Was a Willful Man, Too

I see a bit of myself when I read the story of Moses and the burning bush found in Exodus 4. The Sunday school version likes to focus on the miraculous bush and the holy ground. While awe at God’s majesty is an appropriate response to the story, it’s easy to pass over just how stubborn Moses is.

Five times Moses questions God’s command to set the Israelites free. At first, Moses’ responses seem innocent enough. Why not ask clarifying questions about such a large undertaking. But we eventually see that deep down, Moses is struggling with faithlessness.

Moses begins by asking God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He also asks, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” By the end of the conversation, Moses folds and asks God to send someone else.

At each turn, God patiently replies with miraculous signs, detailed plans, and affirmations of His power. Moses, however, ignores these miracles and God’s calling until the LORD’s anger burns against Moses, and He decides to provide Aaron as support. Did God show mercy to Moses and answer his requests? Yes, He did. But it’s unwise to arouse God’s anger and choose your own way. We know what happened when Abraham and Jonah disobeyed.

Like Moses, I kept asking God to meet certain conditions before I embraced my calling as a writer. I asked things like:

God, give me a big break and send me overnight success
Connect me with the right mentor who can lead me down the path of success
Multiply my 401K 10 fold so that I can work in complete financial freedom

In short, I wanted God to ensure my vision success before I was willing to step out in faith.

Faithfulness Requires Our Full Commitment

Listen to enough business podcasts, and you’ll hear about a hundred and one “rock-bottom” moments. It seems like every entrepreneur, at some point, finds themselves in a place where the money is gone, the new clients aren’t calling, and the marriage is strained. While there’s no one reason for why these low points happen, God often brings us to these rock bottom moments in order to rescue us from the grip of an idol.

Fear, money, status are all common idols for entrepreneurs.

Security was the idol that kept me from fully committing to God’s call for my life. Messages I received from my family (many of them lawyers and financial planners) told me that responsible adults climbed the corporate ladder, bought nice houses, and contributed regularly to their 401ks. This middle-class stability carried a moral weight. Good people held steady jobs and prioritized their income. I felt shame when I wasn’t able to save for a new car or afford nice clothes. I suffocated under the fear of not living up to expectations.

God asked me to use my business to write. I wanted that, too, but I also wanted to use my business to gain financial stability and control. I wanted a rainy day fund for my rainy day fund so I couldn’t be surprised by life. However, my stubborn refusal to give up control hurt my business, my marriage, and my calling as a writer.

In an act of half faith, I decided that I wouldn’t take on more work just to take on more work. I would only take on work that supported my calling. That was fine, but the lower income kept me in a state of perpetual panic that whittled away my free time. Then I’d come home and complain to my wife that what I was doing wasn’t fulfilling because I was just trying to make ends meet but I refused to take on work because I needed to make room for God’s calling. I was a mess! I couldn’t live in this lukewarm limbo for long.

The key to getting myself out of that mess was to put my faith in God’s provision. He is faithful and provides, and my proper response is to respond in faith. Otherwise, passive willfullness will take control and paralyze my business.

Where are you being passively willful in your business? Some common willful strongholds include:

Refusing to provide adequate benefits to employees because you fear an economic downturn.
Not giving up leadership control to competent VPs and other C-suite executives
Wasting time on low-income tasks that should be delegated to an assistant
Refusing to pivot your product line because you believe you’re smarter than the market.

Sometimes executives think that willfullness is just “sticking to their guts,” which is a valuable trait when starting a business. One way to determine if you’re being willful or confident, however, is to ask yourself if you feel God’s peace. If you’re constantly struggling with fear or anxiety, you might have some willfulness to weed out.

What is Success in God’s Eyes?

As I mentioned before, I challenged God to provide success before I put my faith in Him. This led to depression and confusion. What I needed was a new understanding of success and where it comes from.

In the Faith Driven Entrepreneur video “Faithfulness vs. Willfulness,” JD says, “Success is faithfulness in all the roles God has given to us.”

This definition of success goes against the world’s definition of success. The world tells us that it’s our responsibility to find our purpose. Chart your own path! Actualize your full potential! This is what we hear from blog posts and influencers. But in reality, it’s God who lays out our roles. Success isn’t earned by squeezing value from an indifferent universe; it’s received by faithfully living out the roles that God provides us.

And rarely does God give us just one role that determines our success. Our God is more creative and bountiful than that. First and foremost, we are Christ-followers who are privileged to have a relationship with the living God, Jesus. After that, we are family members, community members, and then entrepreneurs. Jesus was a carpenter, but history doesn’t judge Him by the quality of his chairs. The measure of his unfathomable success rested far beyond his vocation. The same goes for you, too.

In all areas of life, our identities are found in who God says we are. Moses doubted himself, but God knew his true potential. Success means being faithful in all the roles God has given to us. This week, consider your calling and ask yourself if there’s an area where you’re being passively willful. Where are you refusing to give your full faithfulness?

You may just find God is ready to remove that roadblock you’ve been struggling with as soon as you release your fears and trust Him to guide you.