An Interesting Decision

Three frogs were sitting on the shore of a lake, and two of them decided to jump into the water. How many frogs remained sitting on the shore after this? The correct answer: three.

If someone tells you that this year they want to go to Antarctica again, you would immediately ask them when they managed to visit there last year. To this the person would say that last year they also wanted this. Wanting and being are not the same thing.

Once I told at a missionary meeting about my missionary project that I was implementing and shared the need for helpers. After this, one person assured me that he had decided to help me, having experience, knowledge, and means for this, which greatly rejoiced my heart. As a result, nothing happened except making the decision, and I had to finish the begun work with other people.

One way or another, we make some decisions daily, but they are implemented only after we begin to undertake something in the given direction.

When my wife and I reflected on how dependent we are on this world and its benefits, the Lord opened to us many sides of our lack of freedom. He showed how vulnerable we turned out to be in all matters, and how we cannot change some things or are not ready to give them up just like that. But we understood that any dependence gives an excellent opportunity for manipulating our consciousness and well-being.

After consulting with each other, we decided not just to understand this question, but to take concrete steps toward the best way out of any dependence, guided by reason and wisdom.

But before beginning to undertake something, we made sure that we had unity of mind, unanimity, and could agree about everything, bearing together all possible difficulties and deprivations of a new way of thinking and life.

Since we understood that without God's participation we could not change anything, we turned to the Almighty in fasting and prayer about our need, asking Him for help and participation in our plans. And after this we faithfully proceeded to implement concrete steps toward the set goal.

We know that our Heavenly Father has many means for bringing all our desires to life, but He uses natural things to teach us trust and independence in decisions and actions. Therefore we assured the Lord that we trust in His omnipotence, but will humanly do what a person should do.

Initially, my wife and I made a list of all our dependent sides and began to reflect on what we should start with and what to decide later. We immediately saw that our desired independence would cost us very dearly, and taking credits and loans for this was not part of our plans, because the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)

To earn more money, something needed to be invented or changed. I made a proposal according to which I become an independent entrepreneur and open my construction firm to have my own orders and receive money without intermediaries.

My wife was afraid that we would be completely left without means if there was no work, but overcoming her fears, she assured me of her support and decided to make preserves and freeze products in case of hard times.

Since we were only learning to make our first steps toward freedom, we needed to comprehend and study much.

Before opening my individual entrepreneurship, I decided to research all possible forms of enterprises and choose the most relevant one for myself, so as not to fall under big taxes and not move from one dependence to another.

I began to recall all my acquaintances and friends who have their own business, contacted them, and asked them to tell me about all the pros and cons of private business. My wife and I carefully listened to stories and advice from experienced people and wrote down all wise recommendations, studying the world of money and self-employment that was new to us.

It turned out that even in this science there exist many of its own laws and rules, and there are quite a few pitfalls that were not visible and unfamiliar to us as beginners.

I also began to look for clients from whom I could receive work and payment for its completion. This turned out to be not so simple, but some of these people knew me and assured me that they would think of something for me. Meanwhile, my wife studied internet possibilities and how one can advertise and find work in various social networks. And then in the evenings we shared our achievements, planned further actions, and proceeded to implement them.

When I began to have an idea of how one's own firm functions, then I wanted to know whether God would approve my steps in this direction and whether He would bless me.

Working in different firms and with different bosses, I always prayed for these people and saw how the Lord blessed their business, and I thought that if He so blesses unbelieving people, then He would probably bless me too when I open something of my own. But to understand how the Lord looks at all this, I decided to take fasting and prayer until an answer. It happened that this fell on the Christmas holidays, and I could be at home and in quietness and peace pray and reflect. On the third day of fasting, the Lord gave me a clear thought that He would never leave me and would be with me wherever I invite Him, and that in God's word and in the counsels of the Spirit of Prophecy there are many useful counsels for conducting honest business and entrepreneurial activity.

After this God's answer, I decided on the next step and informed my boss that I was quitting of my own will in connection with beginning independent activity. The boss was very surprised and puzzled, as he had big plans for me, and he didn't have a suitable replacement. I said that I would work for another two months and then leave. He assured me that I could receive orders from him too, since he knows me and trusts me.

The decision made was interesting and very complex in implementation, since I had no experience and didn't understand much, but my wife and I undertook everything possible to make this step toward our independence and move into complete dependence on God.

The last day of my work at the firm was an ordinary working day. I completed the necessary tasks, gathered all my tools that I was accustomed to working with and, taking their photograph, sent a request to the boss asking if I could take this with me. To which he gave approval, and I went toward my freedom with a feeling of something new and unusual.

I still had to not only leave the old job but also properly register the new enterprise. I decided that I would open a Limited Liability Company (LLC for short) and call it an interesting name describing my activity. For this I registered with a notary in advance and gathered all the necessary documents, which were approved, accepted for consideration, and transferred to the registration court.

My spouse experienced all my adventures together with me and wholeheartedly supported me, convincing me that she believed in me and that the Lord would help. At the same time, she never forgot to pray for this project.

As a result, the decision made became a fact of our life.

1. Please read Genesis 3:19; Exodus 20:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12; Psalm 68:10; 90:10; 127:1-4; Proverbs 10:16; 11:16; 13:11; 14:23; 16:26; Ecclesiastes 1:8; 3:13; 4:9; 5:11,17-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:8-10; 1 Timothy 5:18; Amos 3:3; Ephesians 4:28 in light of this lesson.

2. What did you understand from this topic?

3. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind?

4. Do we need to make some decisions?

5. What will a decision made look like without subsequent actions? Matthew 21:28-31.

6. Is it right for a person to arrange their own business in the last times?

7. What should I do if I want to break out of the existing system and become independent from everything, but don't know how? James 1:5.

8. Does labor with one's own hands bring blessing to life?

9. What types of labor do you know?

10. Is it worth learning from others' examples of creating one's own enterprise if you're not planning to create anything?

11. Will the Lord bless those who completely rely on Him but also take some steps themselves?

12. Is God interested in my material well-being?

13. Is it worth inviting God to participate in all your earthly plans?

14. Does a believing person have the right to open their own business and plan it so as to earn a lot of money?

15. Do you have experience in private entrepreneurship?