Last week we talked about how God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

So here's the next question. Now that you know you're called, what does God actually look for before He starts opening doors?

It all starts with Faith. Activating your Faith moves into how you lead your family, out of a posture of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruits of the Spirit aren't just character traits. They're the evidence of a man who is walking with God.

And that man is the man God can trust with a business.

I heard Pastor Mark Driscoll preach once that if you find yourself in similar hard situations again and again, you might not be passing the test God’s giving you. Abraham was tested in Scripture in Genesis 22:1:

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

He was called into the most DIFFICULT moment of his life. Knowing that the test was to sacrifice his son and ultimately passing the test and watching the Lord provide.

Most of us think the story ends there and that Abraham lived the rest of his life fully blessed. But in reality? The same year he passed the test with Isaac, Abraham’s wife passed away. They had been married over 100 years and he would live another 38 years without her at his side.

When you pass one test, another one is on its way.

Genesis 24 lets us in on what God was looking for — Faithfulness.

And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. (24 v1)

Followed by Abraham’s servant saying this: The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. (24 v35)

Life moves in seasons of rest and momentum. Seasons of hardship and testing. Those hard seasons aren't punishment. They're refinement because God is building something in your character that cannot be built any other way. And when you pass that test, you graduate. You move on to the next season.

I know a man that is just constantly blessed and has God’s Favor on his shoulders. When I asked him about it one day I learned that he spends at least an hour with the Lord before starting his day.

I’m convinced now that people who just seem to carry the favor of God on their life aren’t carrying it from talent, and not just from faith, but Faithfulness.

That is what God looks for before He’ll open the door to the next season. So how do you position yourself for those open doors? Here's a simple framework you can install into your life and your business right now.

Before you ask God why the door isn't opening, you have to be honest enough to look inward first. Most men want to skip this step. They'd rather keep knocking and blame the door. But God isn't going to open what you haven't prepared for. Self-examination isn't weakness. It's the starting point of every breakthrough.

Is there sin that needs to be confessed? Confess it.

Is there laziness that needs to be dealt with? Deal with it.

Is there a gap between the time you're spending in the Word and the wisdom you're expecting God to give you? Close it.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24

Ask yourself:

Where in my life am I cutting corners or avoiding something I know needs to change?

Is there any area of sin, compromise, or disobedience I've been tolerating?

Am I spending enough time in the Word to expect the level of wisdom I'm asking God for?

If God examined my daily habits right now, would He say I'm ready for what I'm asking Him to open?

If you look honestly at your life and can't find anything in the way, then you have your answer. Keep knocking. Keep seeking. The door is coming. But if something surfaces, deal with it before you make more failed attempts to take another step forward.

The Bible says keep knocking, keep seeking, and the door will be opened. But notice who you're supposed to be seeking. Not the opportunity. Not the deal. Not the next revenue stream. Seek The Lord (Isaiah 55:6).

When you're aligned with God's will and walking in His ways, the things you set your heart and mind to will start producing what your heart and mind have envisioned. But the moment you start chasing the door (or the next trendy idea) instead of following God, you get ahead of yourself. You start forcing things that aren't meant to be forced and missing what was right in front of you.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33

Ask yourself:

Am I seeking God about this opportunity or just asking Him to bless what I've already decided?

When was the last time I actually waited on God before making a major business decision?

Does my daily schedule reflect that God is first or does it reflect that the business is first?

Am I chasing what looks like an open door or am I chasing the God who opens doors?

Seek God first. Every single morning before the laptop opens, before the emails get checked, before the strategy gets mapped out. Seek Him. The right opportunities will always follow the man who does that consistently.

Here's the hardest one: You control obedience, not results.

If you take ownership of your failures, you'll also take credit for your successes. And the moment you start taking credit for your successes, you've stepped out from under the very authority that was making it all work in the first place.

Sometimes God's favor looks like a business taking off. Sometimes it looks like a business failing. Both are God making the path straight. Your job isn't to manage the outcomes, it’s to show up every day in faithfulness and let God handle what you can't.

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24

Ask yourself:

Am I more focused on my outcomes than my obedience?

When things don't go the way I planned, do I trust God or do I panic?

Am I holding my business with an open hand or am I gripping it so tight that God can't redirect it?

If the results never came, would I still be faithful to what God has called me to build?

Who you are and who God has called you to be matters more than the results produced by the work you do. The outcomes belong to God. Your job is faithfulness.

Here's Your Challenge This Week

Work through The Open Door Framework on paper. Take each of the three steps and sit with the reflection questions honestly. Don't rush it. Don't just skim them and move on. Actually write your answers down.

Where do you need to examine yourself? Where have you been chasing the opportunity instead of chasing God? Where have you been gripping outcomes that were never yours to control in the first place?

Then take whatever surfaces and bring it before God. Confess what needs to be confessed. Surrender what needs to be surrendered. And then get back to work with clean hands and a clear conscience.

The door you've been knocking on may be closer than you think. But the man on the other side of it has to be ready for what's waiting.

Alistair Begg is going viral again for the right reasons. This is a great take and worth the 2 minutes of time.

David Green is a truly incredible entrepreneur. Several of my friends are in his orbit and I was fortunate to get a signed copy of his Leadership Not by the Book which was all about leading by God’s Word instead of the world’s standards. Excited to dive into this one released in Q4 last year: The Legacy Life.

Over the past month I’ve been deep into the world of AI and figuring out so many things in my industry. And as crazy as it sounds I’ve replaced about $40,000/mo of payroll with AI tools costing around $300/mo. This video from Greg Isenberg is a bit deep, but the ads portion is unbelievably wild how fast it can generate. The future is moving in faster than ever and the ones that know how to use (and build) these tools will be the ones that win in this new era.

Remember, we are building lives, families, and legacies that last. Don’t fret on the future, be faithful with what’s in your hand today.

Rooting for you always,

Joshua Brown
Chief Firestarter at Soulfire

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