Are You Ready for What you Asked For?

As I provide consulting services to faith and community-based nonprofits, many of them initially come to Young Consulting because they want my assistance in writing grants and helping them with raising funds. While I understand that it’s a priority for many due to the increased costs in operating services, I always ask additional questions that help me to better understand whether they are prepared for what they are asking. I ask if they have their tax-exempt status, is it in good standing, who would be the primary person managing the grant if these funds are received, and whether they have a proper accounting system that can manage the funding. Many of these questions have opened up additional awareness that has caused our consulting company to either move forward with grant writing or modify the direction of the services offered to more organizational development consulting.

While this happens in many conversations in talking about operating a successful business, it also goes for our personal growth. How many times have we asked God to give us what we think we need when honestly, we’re not ready for the accountability and responsibility that comes with the ask? If we were honest with ourselves, sometimes we ask God to provide us with things and we haven’t been consistent in managing what He has already provided to us. We may ask God to give us additional resources as the cost of living has increased, but we have mismanaged what’s already come through our hands. We may have asked God to give us a new job, but we haven’t shown faithfulness in our current position.

I truly believe that in order to receive all the blessings that are meant for us, we must create a structure and a space to properly receive and manage those blessings. We always want to move to the next step before addressing the initial foundation. And then we build on quicksand, a foundation that’s faulty that could easily cause us to sink because we didn’t build a sufficient foundation that would allow us to build without crumbling.

As nonprofits and faith-based entities, let’s work on our foundation. Let’s work on the core to our existence. Let’s make sure that not only do we have a strong spiritual foundation, but also a natural one. If you haven’t looked up your business and whether it’s in good standing, now’s the reminder to do that. If you’re not sure what to look for, contact Young Consulting for guidance. Let’s get ready now so that you can be ready when the blessing is ready to come your way.