What does it mean to trust God when the way ahead in business or life is unclear? At a recent CTN Southwest Christian business breakfast in Exeter, Helen Lami shared an encouraging message about walking by faith, responding to change and trusting God one step at a time.
What do you do when you know God is leading you, but you cannot see where the road is going? That was the question running through Helen’s encouraging message as she spoke from her own experience as the leader of Academic Summer Camps, Living Learning English and her more recent experiences as a senior leader at Rediscover Church.
Helen has seen significant change in business, church life and calling, She reminded us that walking by faith rarely means being given the whole plan in advance. “You don’t need the whole map,” she told us. “Take one step at a time.”
For Helen, that is not simply a reassuring thought. It is something she has had to live.
He went without knowing
Helen began by admitting that she naturally likes planning, structure and organisation. Yet one of the things God has been teaching her is that the Christian journey does not always work like that.
She compared it to setting off on a long car journey. You may know your destination, but you cannot know everything you will encounter on the way. There may be roadworks, an unexpected diversion or a stop you had not planned to make. For Christians, we know our ultimate destination is with God, but the route towards it can contain plenty of unexpected turns.
Helen took us to Abraham in Hebrews 11. God called him to go and Abraham obeyed, even though he did not know where he was going. “He didn’t have a five year plan,” Helen said. “He didn’t know what that journey looked like, but he had a promise and he went.”
That willingness to obey without seeing the whole picture was at the heart of Helen’s message. She also reflected on the biblical picture of God’s Word being a lamp to our feet. A lamp gives enough light for the next step. It is not a floodlight illuminating everything that lies miles ahead.
Perhaps, Helen suggested, there are times when God does not show us the whole plan because we would struggle to handle everything we could see. Instead, He asks us to trust Him for the next step.
What happens when a door closes?
Trusting God does not mean everything goes according to our plans. Helen spoke about experiencing considerable change in recent years, using words such as “twists and turns” and “shaking” to describe the journey.
Her response has been to keep moving forward. “The question after a closed door is whether we stop and give up,” she said, “or try the next door and keep walking forward in the journey.”
There may be seasons when soaring like an eagle feels a long way from our experience. We may not even feel as though we can run. Sometimes simply walking is an act of faith.
Helen reminded us of the promise in Isaiah 40 that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar, run without growing weary and “walk and not be faint”. Through long seasons and difficult times, God gives us new strength as we learn to cling to Him and lean into Him.
“Strength for today is enough.”
For anyone facing uncertainty in business, employment, leadership or life, that is a simple but powerful encouragement.
Don’t be afraid of shaking
Change was another strong theme running through Helen’s talk. She has seen how quickly circumstances beyond our control can alter the environment in which businesses and organisations operate, but her message was not to fear change.
“Don’t be afraid of shaking,” she said.
Sometimes things which appeared settled have to move. Plans change, doors close and something we assumed would be part of our future may turn out to have only been for a season. Helen used the picture of a tapestry. From behind, we see knots, loose threads and something that can look like a mess, while God sees the finished picture.
“We don’t see the final picture,” she said. “We don’t know the finished picture.”
That does not remove the challenges we face, but it changes how we face them. We can seek God’s will, keep moving forward and trust that He can see what we cannot.
Your workplace is a mission field
Speaking to Christian business owners and leaders at the Exeter breakfast, Helen brought the message directly into the marketplace. “The journey of faith is not private,” she said. “It’s not just for Sundays.”
God has called Christians into business and many other areas of working life to be an influence and make a difference. That is something very close to the heart of CTN Southwest. Our faith is not something we leave at the door when the working week begins. The marketplace is one of the places where we live it out.
For Helen, that has very practical implications. Christian business people should be known for doing good work, acting honestly and treating people properly. She pointed to Daniel, whose opponents could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy.
“We should be saying, ‘I employed that Christian because they did the work better than anyone else. They were honest. They had integrity.’”
Sometimes marketplace transformation begins with decisions that nobody else will ever notice. It can be the way an invoice is prepared, how an employee is treated or how we respond when somebody comes to us with a problem.
“We should be the safest people to talk to and come to,” Helen said. That is faith in the workplace made visible.
Facing a changing world
Helen also looked ahead to the enormous changes taking place in business, particularly through AI. Her encouragement was not to retreat from change but to be ready to learn and adapt.
She used the picture of a conductor. As technology develops, leaders may increasingly find themselves bringing together different tools and capabilities rather than personally mastering every individual task. “We need to be those conductors as Christians,” she said, “and be willing to face a world of change.”
That thought also came through when Helen answered a question after her talk about learning technology later in life. Rather than assuming we have to understand everything before we begin, she suggested starting with the problem we actually need to solve. AI itself can help by explaining a process step by step.
She also challenged the assumption that younger automatically means more capable with technology. Different generations bring different skills and experience, which creates an opportunity to learn from one another rather than assuming one generation has all the answers.
Don’t walk alone
Perhaps one of the most important challenges came towards the end of Helen’s talk: “Wherever God has placed you in business, education or public life, treat it as your mission field and be the salt and light.”
She followed that with an equally important encouragement. “Because it’s a battle, don’t walk alone. Link arms. Pray together.”
That is exactly why networks such as CTN Southwest matter. Christian business owners and professionals need places where we can meet others who understand both the opportunities and pressures of working life. We need to hear each other’s stories, pray together and remind one another that God is interested in Monday morning as well as Sunday morning.
That is exactly why networks such as CTN Southwest and Kingdom Business matter. Our Christian business breakfasts in Exeter bring together entrepreneurs and professionals who want their faith to shape the way they work.
Also, events like Rediscover Business & Leadership Conference are highly resourceful. They give Christians involved in business and leadership opportunities to connect, learn and encourage one another as they seek to live out their faith in the marketplace.
Keep walking
Helen finished by returning to the journey. We may not know everything that is ahead. We may be living through a season of change or wondering why a door we expected to open has closed. Yet that does not mean God has lost sight of the destination.
As Helen reminded us, God has started His work in us and He will bring it to completion. Our responsibility is to trust Him with the part of the road we can see and take the next step.
We do not need the whole map. We need to know the One who does.
So keep walking, keep trusting and keep being salt and light where God has placed you. And when the road becomes difficult, don’t walk it alone. CTN Southwest exists to bring Christians in business and the workplace together to encourage one another, pray and explore what it means to see God’s Kingdom transforming the marketplace.
Join us at a future Christian business breakfast in Exeter, come along to one of our online meetings (see schedule) and stay connected with CTN Southwest on Facebook and LinkedIn.
