Have you ever acted out of desperation?
I have.
And it doesn’t usually end well.

I have a tendency—one I’m still working on—to look at unfavorable circumstances and try to fix them immediately. Especially when business finances start acting funny. For me, that looks like reaching into my bag of skills and asking, What can I offer right now to make some quick cash?

On the surface, that might not sound so bad. Entrepreneurs are supposed to make money, right? But it’s what’s under the surface that matters. In those moments, money becomes my motivation. And money is not my master.

Recently, a client representing one of my larger contracts decided to scale back. And when I say scale back, I mean a lot. It was a big hit to my business’s gross revenue and, consequently, what I could pay myself.

Thankfully, they’re not my only client. I’ve done the work of building multiple streams of income and preparing for shifts like this—or at least I thought I had. But despite all that wisdom I believed I was walking in, my first response to the decrease in revenue was still desperation.

I started thinking about reaching out to people I’d worked with in the past to offer consulting services. I thought about launching new offers that might bring in quick cash but wouldn’t necessarily provide real value. I even considered going back to my Adminiprise days and offering operations management retainers again.

And then, right in the middle of all my planning, brainstorming, and strategizing how to make more money, God told me to stop.

Stop striving.
Stop doing anything driven by a money motivation.
Rest in Him.
And remember that He is my provider.

Thankfully, my mental scrambling only lasted a few days this time, and I didn’t make any major moves from a place of desperation. But I almost did. I was close to deviating from the plan—the plan—in order to chase dollars. And that’s not okay.

Instead of sitting in disappointment or guilt, I’m choosing to sit still. To be refreshed. To rest. To trust. And to keep doing what I’ve been purposed to do—intentionally and consistently, not reactively.

So this is the part of the blog where I’d usually share five things you should do to avoid acting out of desperation yourself. I’d offer tips like I did in my post about detoxing your business, or another one about streamlining your operations.

But today, I only have one thing to share.

If your circumstances shift and cause you to wonder whether you’re doing enough…
If you’re questioning whether you’re doing the right thing…
If you start asking yourself whether this is really your calling…

Don’t panic. Just pause.

Don’t react. Just pause.
Don’t go backward. Just pause.
Don’t compromise your standards or your values. Just pause.
Don’t lose sight of the vision God gave you. Just pause.
Don’t sell yourself short looking for a short-term fix with long-term consequences. Just pause.
Don’t begin questioning everything God has placed inside of you. Just pause.

Pause—but don’t ever, ever quit.

When you find yourself reacting, take a beat and remember who God is, what He said, and who you are in Him. Let Him calm you, clear your thinking, and remind you who’s really in control.

Because sometimes discernment isn’t about doing more or deciding what step to take next. Sometimes discernment is recognizing when to pause. When to be still and know that He is God. Slowing down long enough to hear God clearly and choosing alignment over anxiety. And then—once your footing is steady again—you can get back on purpose.