If you’re searching “good steward” or “business profit” because the money finally started coming in and you’re not sure what to do with it, this episode is for you.

You’re finally making some money. Maybe a client paid on time for once. Maybe the launch did better than you expected. Maybe the month came in higher than what you needed. You could call it a financial blessing. And then it’s gone. A cart open at midnight. A subscription you forgot about. One more course. A month later, nothing looks any different.

Before any strategy, this episode starts with permission. First Timothy 6:17 says God “giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” As a Christian business owner, you don’t need a defense for every purchase. A treat is not a sin. A good meal is not a sin.

Boaz was “a mighty man of wealth,” and he noticed the widow gleaning in his field. Then he gave his young men an instruction: “And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.” The extra was built into the reaping. It was not what happened to be left over. That is stewardship in business at its simplest: pay attention, and decide the edge of the field before the harvest.

If you wait to see what’s left, there is usually nothing left. If you decide ahead, every part of it has somewhere to go. Some for savings, some for someone else, some for you to enjoy on purpose, and some back into the business. A faith based business still has a question to answer after the sale: what happens to the money?

Sim shares her own story of spending on the newest phone, learning to spend on needs over wants, putting the extra into savings, and helping someone in need without anyone knowing. Jesus says it in Matthew 6:3-4: “let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”

Before the next payment lands, decide what the first extra amount will do. Save it, give it, or enjoy it. Pick one, and write it down before the money arrives.

This is the final episode in our series on income and stewardship. If your month came in lower than you hoped and you’re rethinking where your business stands, grab the free tool Start Fresh or Rebuild?

Recommended for: Christian women business owners whose month finally came in higher than they needed. Women who find the extra is gone before anything gets set aside. Anyone who feels every purchase needs a defense.

If this helped, follow the show and leave a review so other Christian women in business can find it.

Related episodes: Still Skipping Your Self-Pay? God Says the Laborer Is Worthy of Her Wages. Waiting for a Guaranteed Outcome Before You Invest? God Calls You a Good and Faithful Servant, Not a Guaranteed One.

If you're searching "trusting God in difficult times," "how to trust God" or "economic uncertainty," this episode is for you.

Your clients are buying slower. They ask for discounts. They take longer to say yes. Your software, contractors and internet all cost more. You tell everyone you're trusting God with your business, then you open the bank app, close it, and open it again ten minutes later.

Statistics Canada, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Federation of Independent Business all tell the same story. Prices are rising, and small business owners name inflation as one of their problems. So when a client hesitates, it might not be your offer. It might not be your faith either.

Hezekiah trusted the LORD God of Israel. Then Assyria took the fenced cities of Judah, and a great army came anyway. Assyria's messengers sent him a letter aimed at his trust. Here is what he did with it:

"And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD." (2 Kings 19:14, KJV)

He read all of it. Then he took it to God and laid it open.

Trusting God in difficult times has a shape. Look at your real numbers. Tell God what you see and ask Him for the wise next step. Then make the decision you've been putting off.

We walk through three real situations: a client asking for a discount, a $1,200 month followed by a $280 month and why that's a slow season, not a failed business, and whether raising prices is greed or faithfulness. I also share my own story of putting myself through university on my own, and what it taught me about budgeting.

Before you open your bank app or your analytics, stop for sixty seconds and tell God what you're about to look at. Then write down three things: one way this economy is hitting your business, one way it's hitting your home, and one number you've been avoiding.

Trusting God with your numbers starts the way it did for Hezekiah: read all of it, then spread it before the LORD.

Recommended for: Christian women in business watching clients hesitate and costs rise · Women who keep checking the bank app or analytics · Women unsure whether this season is a start fresh or a rebuild

Free resource: Not sure if this season is a start fresh or a rebuild? Grab the free "Start Fresh or Rebuild?" resource:.

Follow Set Apart Startup so you don't miss the next episode, and leave a review if this one helped.

Related episodes:

• Waiting for a Guaranteed Outcome Before You Invest? God Calls You a Good and Faithful Servant, Not a Guaranteed One.
• Still Skipping Your Self-Pay? God Says the Laborer Is Worthy of Her Wages