Monday, March 10, 2008

Doing Business on Great Waters

by Patrice Tsague, NPIM

"Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord and His wanders in the deep." Psalm 107:23-24

I have always seen business as one of those activities that could cause an atheist to become a Christian and a Christian to be converted to become a true follower of Christ. Business is an activity of great risks and those who truly succeed at it, whether Christian or not, go through great challenges before experiencing success and victory. Many have found Christ in the midst of failed businesses, and some in the midst of trials within the business. There are very few activities that test your faith as much as starting and growing a business to its fullest potential. Those who achieve business success must do business on great waters.

The unfortunate thing is that many Christians are unable to grow successful businesses because they are afraid of the great waters; they do not realize that the great waters are where you experience the power, provision and protection of God. In Psalm 107:23-24 the Psalmist describes those who see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep as entrepreneurs who go down to the sea in ships and do business on great waters. Furthermore, he says that as they do business on those great waters they are able to see God command and raise the stormy wind and as they cry out to the Lord in their trouble He brings them out of their distress; He calms the storm so that its waves are still and guides them to their desired haven.

Do you want to see the works of the Lord? Do you want to experience the goodness of God? Do you want to see His power and His saving grace? Move from the seashore and take your business in the middle of the sea onto the great waters. On the great waters there is a harvest, on the great waters there is mercy and the grace of God, on the great waters there is divine protection and provision. The great waters are symbolic of the turbulence of the market. They are the places where you take the most risks and must put your total trust and confidence in God.


I am reminded of Luke 5:16, where the story is told of Jesus meeting four entrepreneurs who operated a fishing business. These fishermen had been fishing all night and had caught nothing because they were fishing in the shallow areas of the sea. Jesus came and borrowed their boats to use as a pulpit to preach to the multitude that was following Him, and as a thank you He instructed them about catching fish. His instruction was that they should launch out into the deep. In other words, they should go out into the great waters and there they would get the provisions of God.

Our concern about the great waters is that we will be totally insecure and the risk seems to be so high. What we must realize is that the place where we have the greatest protection and provision is in the great waters. You don't need God in the shallow waters. You don't need God to help you do want you can do yourself. You need God to help you do what you cannot do on your own.

So you want to experience God's power, God's provision and God's protection? Take your business to the next level, move from the shallow areas of the market and go out and do business on great waters - there you will experience His Power, His Provision and His Protection. As you do, thank Him for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to His children. Exalt Him among others and praise Him in the company of the elders for He is good and His mercy endures forever.

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