Devotions for a Busy Business Person, no. 262 – I thought I had a plan
I thought I had a plan.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1–2
Our company Ecomark’s vision was “Providing solutions in environmental stewardship”. It was a group of professionals – hydrogeologists, agronomists, biologists, engineers and environmental health professionals – who served industry and government to do the right thing environmentally.
It was 2009. Terri and I had built a company with 22 awesome professionals and the company was humming along. Our goal was to build the company till I turned 65, sell it and devote our time fully to charity work.
God had a different idea.
We had built a company serving three streams: oil & gas, industry and land developers. We did this because their economic cycles were different, so we would always be able to keep our staff employed. The financial crisis put paid to that strategy when credit disappeared. All our clients came to a halt; some went bankrupt and others could not pay. We had to sell the business 11 years earlier than planned. Fortunately, through strong negotiations and goodwill, none of our staff lost a single day of employment.
“The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all”. Psalm 34:19
But closing early accelerated our work in missions. God’s long-term, sovereign, plan trumped all. If God had not closed Ecomark early, we would have approached the mission work too late in life. Instead, we have been able to work in hard, difficult places while we still had the mental and physical stamina to do it. Based on this experience, we have developed ReGen, where we work to “restore barren hearts in barren lands”. We work in a hybrid not-for-profit/for-profit model to restore ecosystems, agriculture and the heart so that all can flourish. It took ten years to forge the idea, seek counsel, try and fail, raise funds, reforge the idea, try and fail again, and reforge the idea again. It was not until I finished most of my other commitments (removed the weeds) that the floodgates on ReGen were released, and things grew.
Even fruitful work will undergo pruning, and in my case, get cut right to the root stock, to become more effective.
I’ve learned from these experiences, and am grateful for most of them, but pruning still hurts. And that is ok. It is the Father that prunes.
All for Jesus.
Prayer
God, you are the Great Gardener. Thank you for helping us flourish, even when that growth requires pruning and weeding.
Amen
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