When should I take action? When do I need to pause and wait for God to answer? Will God deliver me a clear sign? Is this one of those times where my faith requires action? (Am I now paralyzed analyzing my own analysis paralysis? Please tell me I’m not the only one! Lol!)
In an effort to address the question, “Should I take action or should I wait on God?” I’ll start by sharing a little throwback story…
In July 2015, an opportunity presented itself that would allow New Scooters 4 Less to move to NW 13th Street (where we are located now). A competitor who had been in the location was going out of business and told me they were closing on Friday night. I told the landlord (after previous conversations about the space) that if they did, I’d sign the lease on Saturday morning.
As much as I loved the location, the property was beat up and run down and I knew I would have to put money in it to make it represent New Scooters 4 Less nicely. After reading the lease, I also knew that no assistance would come from the landlord. The biggest problem? We still had a year and a half left on our lease in our location at 118 NW 14th Ave. For all these reasons, signing a lease on this location sounded like a terrible idea, but all I can say is that the Holy Spirit kept moving me in that direction.
That Saturday morning, as I was driving to the location to meet with the landlord, I prayed out loud, “LORD, if for any reason I’m not supposed to sign that lease, I need you to stop me right now. I’ll take a fender bender to keep it from happening if it’s not supposed to happen.”
Every hair on my body stood up and I just felt this overwhelming peace, yet excitement, come over me. I knew that I was supposed to sign that lease. I knew it was God’s will. I signed with zero hesitation.
Then the reassurance came, the landlord of our location on NW 14th Ave came to me shortly after and said, “Hey Collin, I saw you opened up another location…”
“Hey! Yes! Don’t worry though. We love it here! We just saw an opportunity to be a little closer to campus!” I replied.
He responded, “Well, I was actually approaching you to see if it would help you to get out of your lease early. Our business has been growing and we could really use your space, so if you wanted out of your lease, we’d let you out so you could move to your new location.”
It was clear, that this was God’s will. After working out the timeline for the transition, we moved and the Lord saved us months of double rent.
We moved the entire team to our current location at 633 NW 13th Street in 2016.
From the day I stepped foot into this location, I kept getting this overwhelming stirring and kept thinking, “We have to buy this place.” The problem? It wasn’t for sale and I was told by the landlord that it wouldn’t ever be.
[Side Note: Here’s a fun video showing a tour in 2015 and then showing what it became in 2017…]
I’ll save the rest of that story for a different day, but if you weren’t already aware… God blessed us with the property and we successfully purchased it at the beginning of 2017! I’m honored with the opportunity to steward this for the Lord. It was God’s will.
I mention this entire story, because today, I reflect back to it so I remember this moment of being in tune with the Holy Spirit and being assured of God’s will. If it’s not clear, I pause, pray, and wait on God.
When I read this particular prayer below from early 2021, I see how unsettled and anxious I was. Things weren’t flowing. They were the opposite. I was burnt out. I wanted out of New Scooters 4 Less. I wanted to work on new ideas. I wanted to take action, but the only action God wanted me to take was to WAIT ON HIM. Admittedly, I was frustrated (I wonder what Jesus thinks of us being frustrated at him), especially, if you’re someone like me who enjoys being on the move…
[Re-typed and elaborated for clarity and context…]
Wednesday, January 20th, [2021] 8:36a NS4L Office
Jesus,
Am I obsessing over the next few months? Do you want me to chill out, sit back, and watch your show? What moves should I be making? Should I contact [owner] at [competing business] and see if he wants to figure something out?
[I now picture Jesus saying… “Be still. Just wait. You have no idea what I have planned for you.”]
After conversations with [a good friend], I would LOVE to work with him and build something around this idea of “The Ripple Effect.” Just working with talented people would be a huge honor and blessing.
[Some will say it’s a weakness. Some will say it’s a strength. I’m not sure, but I’m an idea generator, for sure. If I could have a job where I brainstorm ideas and just hand them to people to take and execute, I’d have the perfect job! My problem is that sometimes I feel I can’t focus on one thing long enough before I get a new idea and start working on something else…
At the time of this prayer, my friend had recently sold his company and was walking with me through this difficult season in my business. (Side note: surrounding yourself with community that is always there for you is key in life.) We had been brainstorming a business idea we were calling “The Ripple Effect.” In short, the concept was that we would take our expertise in sales and marketing, find a local business that was struggling, acquire a small percentage of ownership, and help that business owner get it turned around and profitable again, maintain partnership if desired, or later sell them the equity back at the new value. My favorite part was that the “advising / mentor sessions” were going to be recorded and released as a podcast series/season so other businesses could listen and learn from the struggling company. Plus, the content generated from the podcast would also help us advertise the struggling business which in itself would build sales. Hopefully, the impact would make ripples that would continue to save businesses, impact communities, and help others in a positive way… the ripple effect.
I still love this idea and you never know, I might execute it in the future. The idea of stepping in and helping small businesses that are struggling and applying my experience to help them get things turned around really excites me. I guess God wanted me to do it in New Scooters 4 Less first…]
How can I use the gifts you’ve given me to impact and serve others? [I now see where this is happening regularly.] How can I use these gifts to disciple? What ways should I invest in the lives of others? [I now see where God has me doing this regularly through my testimony, these stories, this blog, the one-to-one conversations that happen in the scooter shop, and more.] Should I close the doors of NS4L in April if it has not sold? Should I switch gears and build a studio next door? [I wanted to take the front part of our building at 607 NW 13th Street and turn it into a podcasting studio.] I’m anxious about starting what’s next, but not worried or as stressed as I would normally be. Just unsure. Unsure of what I should be doing today, if anything. The waiting game is uncomfortable to me. I feel like I should be doing something. Taking action. If you want me to take action on anything today in regards to any of the above, then I ask that you place these actions on my heart. [Answer: Isaiah 40:31 ESV “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”]
Let this morning’s Clubhouse at 9 am be impactful and have ripple effects that impact lives forever.
[Clubhouse was a new app that came out during this time. I was experimenting with it and doing what I could to pull people together for faith-based meetups.]
I love you.
Collin
Today’s final thoughts…
I have one job today… show up and fulfill the will of God. It’s so simplistic, yet satisfying. If we truly release the materialistic idols that creep in on our lives, stop worrying about what others will think of us, there’s so much satisfaction in showing up, surrendering all, saying “lead the way,” taking action when called, and waiting when necessary. Most importantly… it’s having a relationship with Jesus…
Matthew 7:21-23 NIV 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Thank you so much for reading, subscribing, and sharing. My prayer is that God will use this blog for his glory. Have a blessed week and to my fellow business owners out there… I’m praying you have a plentiful 4th quarter!
Collin
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