Grace Under Fire

Just a personal note before we dive into the content. I’ve spent the past 12 years growing and building a business that hasn’t been super trendy in the last year. Customers are more frustrated than ever and despite all our best efforts a lot of the service we provide seems to be a losing battle. We’ve had some of our hardest weeks recently and I decided to devote my attention to those matters. Interestingly enough I was writing something deeper about faith that I had put on the back burner, but now it’s more relevant than ever starting with how to answer the following question:

HOW DO YOU PUSH THROUGH THE HARD SEASONS WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW THE BEST DIRECTION TO GO IN NEXT?

I’ve been wrestling with this one and have some insight I think will be super valuable for each of you. I’ve always said I make the mistakes so you don’t have to. But I also believe the real-time lessons I’m learning (even after running a company for more than a decade) can be helpful no matter where you are in the journey stages.

Welcome to my Grace Under Fire Season.

You can want it. You can plan for it. But when the weight hits… when you’re carrying your family, your business, your people, rest feels like a luxury you can’t afford.

I’ve been there. Update: I AM there.

Ben Horowitz calls these season the ones you need to be a wartime CEO.

Every fire needs your attention. Every decision matters. You wake up before the sun, crash long after dark, and still lie awake thinking about the things that didn’t get done.

It’s in those moments where you are at the end that God often reminds us of something powerful:

You weren’t built to do this alone.

There’s a difference between being tired and being emptied.

Tired means you need a break.

Emptied means you’ve hit the end of yourself.

But like I said, that’s often where grace begins.

It’s one thing to believe God can provide when life is steady. It’s another to believe it when you’re running on fumes and still called to keep leading.

When Faith stops being theory and becomes survival, you’re usually right where you need to be even if it doesn’t feel like it.

As the Proverb says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding…”

Not easy.

But completely necessary.

Sometimes God won’t slow the season down because He wants you to learn how to rely on Him in the speed, the stretch, and the discomfort.

That is faith completely summed up.

And it’s exactly what I’ve been experiencing lately. The cracks have been in the lining and the surprising part? I’m doing everything “right.”

My Faith is strong.

My family is in an exciting season.

My employees are some of my favorite people on the planet.

My clients are doing work that I believe in thoroughly and 100% match our values.

But the season is just HARD.

If most people had to handle the pressures and challenges I deal with daily, they likely couldn’t. Not because they aren’t capable, but because they’re so monumental.

God never created us to just coast and not move forward. He built an innate desire in us to keep learning, growing, and accomplishing.

Proverbs says it like this: “The hand of the diligent will rule.”

Colossians goes a little deeper: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for me".

Paul tells the Church in Corinth, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

I’m trying to do all these things, but some days it just feels like it’s not enough. Like I’m going to come up short no matter what. And that all this time, energy and effort is a losing battle.

Paul understood these moments better than anyone and yet still proclaimed this amazing line when he talked about the Lord:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

Paul was leading, building, fighting, and carrying more than any one man should. He experienced shipwrecks, venomous snake bites, prison, attempted murder, and countless hardships. And in that space, God didn’t remove the weight. He taught Paul how to rely on divine strength instead of human effort.

Divine > Human when it comes to true strength.

He wrote earlier in 1 Corinthians that your works “will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” — 1 Corinthians 3:13

That’s Grace Under Fire.

Can you continue to stand when life is beating you down?

Can you continue to lead when there’s no reason anyone should follow?

Can you continue to push in and the world is saying to give up?

Can you continue to have faith when everything around you is saying it’s not working?

Do you have the belief that what you’re doing matters and every single moment is a gift from God designed to teach, stretch or correct?

If you answer YES then congratulations. You are on your way to becoming a Godly Man Rising Up. If you answer NO then it’s time to get to work.

Be steadfast.

Immovable.

Abounding.

Labor not in vain no matter how much there is.

When the heat turns up, this is what happens.

Pressure exposes what’s inside of you.

It shows what’s real and what’s not. The cracks you feel aren’t signs of weakness; they’re reminders that you need something stronger to fill them.

Presence is what changes everything.

When you can’t slow down, you can still turn your focus. God’s presence doesn’t pause. It does require you to remember that He is with you while you move, while you lead, while you fight.

Power is what follows.

Not the kind that burns you out, but the kind that carries you through. It’s strength that doesn’t come from the gym or the grind but from grace itself.

This week you are going to put this into practice.

Power is not for your own gain, it’s to give you what you need in the moment. Sound mind. Self Control. Love for the life you’ve been given. And the ability to walk with conviction, boldness, and clarity every single day.

When you’re leading through chaos, it’s tempting to think you just need to “push harder.”

And sometimes, you do. But the key is pushing with God, not apart from Him.

You can’t run on empty forever, but you can run on grace.

First for yourself. Then for the situation you are in.

You can lead through exhaustion because that’s just a state of mind. But you can’t lead from an empty Faith tank. You have to put into practice the things we’re learning because God won’t always give us an escape from the battle. Sometimes He gives us endurance in the middle of it.

Take five minutes today and get honest about where you’re feeling pressure.
Write it down.

Then ask yourself:

Start and end your day with carving out specific, set apart time to read, reflect, and pray. Read Scripture to be filled and inspired. Reflect on what is happening in your life or your business that you need to rely on God for. Pray: God, grant me the wisdom I need every day. Help me to handle everything life is throwing my way by relying more on you than I ever have. I cast my burdens on you so you can help me become steadfast, immovable, and a man that others can be led by.

God is working.

He is building patience, shaping character, and laying a foundation that will hold when the pressure comes.

Stay faithful. Stay focused. When the time comes, you will be ready.

Charge in hard this week and don’t back down from Grace Under fire.

See you again soon,

Joshua Brown
Chief Firestarter at Soulfire

PS: I’m currently filming content for a 21-day program that’s designed to take all these steps and frameworks further. If you’d like to get a glimpse before it’s fully released then reply “Fire” to this email and I’ll make sure you’re included!