Developing your post-Covid plans

James Bruyn June 12, 2020

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Now that some of the restrictions for Covid-19 are easing, what’s next? Many of us are itching to get going, and to be doing the things that we were doing before. Before you venture out here are a couple of thoughts.

Live for today, but plan for the future. Be careful not to dwell on what your future may look like. Anxiety lives in the future. Anxiety sneaks in to your heart when you visit the future. God knows your anxious thoughts. God is saying to you today "You don't have to fear the future, I will continue to walk beside you leading you in the way everlasting."

Once your plans are made, live for today! Embrace each life experience God has for you today. As you live for today, choose to wisely steward all of God's blessings so that you will be able to boldly enter into the future God has planned for you with confidence.

Listen to God’s voice of wisdom that is calling out at the places where you conduct your business. As you build your plans, seek God’s wisdom. God knows where you need to take your business, or how you need to lead your department, so seek his wisdom.

God, the Creator of this marvelous planet that we inhabit, created all the rules and principles that successful businesses operate by. He will not keep these a secret. He longs to share this wisdom with you.

Give thanks with a grateful heart to our Creator for giving you the resources you need to operate your business, seek his wisdom to know where to find those resources, how to name those resources, and how to combine these resources to build the goods and services your business produces. I invite you to immerse yourself in the book of Proverbs and listen to what God has to say to you.

Be strategic but flexible. Now is not the time for knee-jerk reactions. This is a marathon, not a sprint. As Christians, we have a confident hope. Set some realistic 18-month and five-year goals for your business, and then work backwards, developing the strategies to reach these goals.

As Christians we know, and this pandemic has reminded us, that only our Father in heaven knows what tomorrow holds. So after making your plans, release them into your Father’s loving hands and trust that he will keep them safe.

Wait patiently.Jesus’ disciples spent 40 days locked up in the Upper Room before being clothed with power from on high. They had no clue of the amazing things the Holy Spirit would do through their lives on Pentecost or in the coming years. All they knew is that what they were patiently waiting for would be worthwhile, because they had seen the Power of God raise their friend Jesus from the dead.

Wait patiently for the Holy Spirit to come with power into your life, so that you can overflow with Christ’s love for your colleagues and customers. Wait patiently for your friends who are not ready to rush out yet, and hear what God has to say to you through them.

Continue to be motivated by Christ’s love. Consider the interests of your colleagues and customers as you build your plans. Listen to their stories and discern what is working and what is not working for them.

Each person will have a unique story about what they've appreciated about the isolation we have experienced, and the struggles they faced. What is one way your business can support them in their struggles? The choices you make for your business, motivated by Christ’s love, can help alleviate their fears, just as God’s perfect love can drive away yourfears.

Be creative.God is blessing you with a wonderful opportunity to operate your business in creative new ways and to form creative new partnerships. When you stepped into your first leadership role, God blessed you with the opportunity to be creative. Your creativity is what has made the business or department you lead uniquely successful. Just like in the early days of your career let your creative juices flow once again. Embrace your Creator’s gift of creativity for God’s glory.

Finally, do not be afraid. Our Loving, Heavenly Father has promised to provide for all your needs according to his glorious riches. When you step out in obedience to God’s voice of wisdom, you do not step out alone. God, in his righteousness and holiness, is right there beside you.

If it feels like you're leaping off a trapeze, underneath you are God’s loving hands ready to catch you if you don’t make it to the other side. If it feels like you're walking upstream in a raging river that threatens to drown you, God’s loving hand is holding you up and will not let you drown. If it feels like you're stepping out into the darkness, God has promised that his Word would be a lamp unto your feet, and that he would keep your foot from stumbling.

Yes, that first step is scary. Yes, this world feels different then it did a few months ago, but God is with you, so you have nothing to fear. It might not be easy to move forward. Like all of us, you will make some mistakes. That's okay. Tell God your fears - he knows about them already!

And when you make a mistake, he will not condemn you. He will graciously lead you forward.

If you choose to patiently move forward in obedience to God then one day you will look back and say ‘in all these things I have seen the hand of the Lord.’

Your decision to move forward in faith, confident in what you hope for, and assured about what you do not see (Heb 11:1), will inspire others to live by faith. So throw off the sins that so easily entangle you (you know which ones those are) and run with perseverance the race God has marked out for you! Fix your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of your faith! (Heb 12:1-2)

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James Bruyn is a bi-vocational visionary leader, writer and speaker who enjoys helping individuals integrate their faith in God with their daily life. He leads a ministry to Christians in the marketplace in Calgary, provides leadership coaching, and consults for the rail industry. He writes a weekly devotional and also has a devotional book, 31 Days with God at Work (Marketplace 2018). Learn More »

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