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The Estherpreneur is a weekly chat about doing business and life God’s way. Join your host, Edna Harding as she offers biblical strategies and practical applications to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as she talks with guests on how to thrive in all areas of life. Edna is a Wife, Mother, Growth Strategist, Author, Minister, Certified Maxwell Business Consultant and Executive Coach, an accredited Master Mindset Coach, and Speaker whose message of hope, truth, and wisdom reaches people all around the world. FavorandWealth.com Estherpreneur.com
Edna Harding [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Estrepreneur, a podcast for entrepreneurs and leaders doing business and life God's way. Each week we discuss biblical and practical tips to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships and finances. Listen along as I speak with special guests on how to thrive in all aspects of life.
Edna Harding [00:00:25]:
Hi, I'm Edna.
Edna Harding [00:00:27]:
Like many of you, I wear many hats. I'm a military wife, mother, author, certified John Maxwell business and executive coach, trainer and founder of Favor and wealth, where we help the good guys win. So tune in as we bring on the light.
Edna Harding [00:00:46]:
Well, hello everyone. Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the Estrepreneur podcast. My name is Edna Harding and I am their host of this podcast where we talk all things business and life God's way. And I guess I'm so excited to be talking about something that's really dear to my heart because this is something that a lot of people tend to do. When I say a lot of people, a lot of believers tend to use the word manifestation, tend to use the word attraction or in their mind are thinking they're calling it visualization. All these things, you hear these lingos and I think we need to find out exactly what the root cause of manifestation is and the difference between manifestation versus the fulfillment of God prom God's promises. Because there's two different concept. One is based on the world systems, God's the fulfillment of God's promises.
Edna Harding [00:01:47]:
The is based on God's word. Okay, so there's a difference between the two. And today we're going to go into all of this deeply. And I just wanted to say that this is causing real confusion in the body of Christ. You know, there is a lot of churches obviously in the world. There are a lot of Christian like as far as name churches and there's a lot of feel good messages out there, but there's not enough of truth messages. And I'm praying and hoping that this episode is just going to enlighten your your spirit, that it's going to show you something different that you did not known before. And so let's go ahead and cut to the chase and look at the difference between manifestation of fulfillment of God's promises, which at first glance these ideas definitely sound familiar because both talk about belief, both talk about expecting outcomes, and both talk about shaping your future.
Speaker C [00:02:50]:
Right.
Edna Harding [00:02:51]:
But there is a fundamental difference and understanding that difference could actually transform your entire approach when it comes to business and life. But before we do this, I'm just going to pray over your mind because this is such a the enemy wants to confuse his people, God's people about this. And so I pray that God will give you discernment this hour. So Father, I thank you Lord for every listener right now. I ask that you open our ears, our hearts and our discernment right now. Show us the truth of your word and guard us from any teaching that elevates self over you, Lord. May everything we discuss today point back to your sovereignty, Lord, and your promises and your faithfulness and everything. All you Lord God.
Edna Harding [00:03:42]:
And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen. All right, so a couple years ago I, I had a client that was completely frustrated, very exhausted. She has been following a lot of the manifestation teachings for years, talking about, you know, all the things that you would think would bring success. So she had vision board taped around her houses. She spoke affirmations over herself every day. She meditated, she visualized, she tried to her lot, aligned her energy with abundance. In fact, I had a coach who was a so called Christian but taught all of these things to her students.
Edna Harding [00:04:31]:
And, and she's a Christian, she's a Jesus believing Christian. And it grieved my heart. I remember she, even one of my, my clients, she told me, she's like, you know, Edna, I'm speaking things into existence. I'm doing everything right, so why isn't it working? And the thing about it is she wasn't lazy, she was motivated. She was consistent and truly believe in what she was doing. But her business was struggling. So why is this the case? And maybe you guys can relate to her story. And the fact of the matter is, the revelation I got was that she wasn't resting on the promises of God.
Edna Harding [00:05:12]:
She was trying to live by the world's version of manifestation. And once she understood the difference, everything changed. And that's what I want to unpack to you today. In fact, I'm not saying this from a place of I never made this mistake. In fact, some of these things I mentioned, like vision boards, affirmations, speech speaking, life, I never did the energy thing, I've never done the meditation thing, but I did visualize, I did do affirmations and vision boards and things of that sort, which in, in hindsight it looks like, is there anything wrong with it? But if you really dig deep into the word of God, the heart posture, the motives behind those actions was based on self reliance versus God reliance. And I'm going to dig deeper into that in this next few minutes. Okay, so first let's understand what exactly does manifestation teach? Okay, so in manifestation, the foundation of it is that you create your reality through your thoughts and beliefs. The universe responds to your vibration and energy.
Edna Harding [00:06:23]:
The other thing is you are the source for your own success. And most importantly, what do you think most you attract? So some of these things could be like gray areas. Meaning like some of these sound like the Bible a little bit. But let's, let's, we're going to dig deep, we're going to peel the layers and how to ensure that it's rooted in God's word and not through the world system. Here's the problem with number one, the first one, which is you create your reality through your thoughts and beliefs. Number one, it makes you the source. Manifestation says you are the creator, you are the driver, everything depends on you. Okay.
Edna Harding [00:07:04]:
The second thing that's wrong with this where it says the universe responds to your vibration and so forth and blah blah blah, it's performance based. So it's like basically if you don't think right, if you don't believe hard enough or say the right affirmations, you miss out. Okay. The third thing is ignores God's sovereignty because it assumes that you can bend outcomes to your will as if you're the God of your own universe.
Speaker C [00:07:32]:
Right.
Edna Harding [00:07:36]:
And the last thing that I wanted to mention was it leads to spiritual pride. So for example, if things go right, you take the credit. Yeah, I manifested this. When things go wrong, you blame yourself also because you're like, well, I should have believed more. I should have done this. I should have done this tomorrow. So bottom line is I've seen too many believers use God like a cosmic vending machine. So insert the right prayers, for example, the right thoughts, the right energy, and then expect him to dispense blessings.
Edna Harding [00:08:06]:
And my friends, let me tell you, that is not faith, that is witchcraft. That is control. You cannot control God. God is God. He's the creator of the universe. He does what he pleases, he chooses what he wants. You can't manipulate him through actions or faith like there is. Yes, there are certain things that he gives us choices in a sense where we could choose certain things.
Edna Harding [00:08:33]:
But I think there are certain things that relies on God's thank you Holy Spirit. I feel like it's, it's a two way street.
Speaker C [00:08:40]:
Right?
Edna Harding [00:08:41]:
So God wants us man to co labor with him to do what he tells us to do and then he'll do his part heart. And then for us in our mind, we, we can't do our own thing and expect God to follow us. You know, he, we can't lead God if that makes Sense, God is the One leading us. We're following him, not the other way around. And with manifestation, it's like God is following whatever we say, want or think. And that is not how it works. Okay, yes, he's not. He.
Edna Harding [00:09:13]:
He. He's. We're not robots. He doesn't make us do what things we don't want. He'll speak to us, he'll give us choices. But at the end of the day, he's not going to bend over backwards to make things work for us, if that makes sense. Like, he is God. He is sovereign.
Edna Harding [00:09:31]:
He has a plan. He has a will. We could choose to stay in his plan, or we could choose our own way. But he's not going to force his will upon us. But at the same time, he's going to get the outcome that he wants, whether we choose to participate or not. I think that's what people don't understand, is that we actually he wants to invite us into the outcome. He wants to invite us to be part of what he's doing, not the other way around. You don't invite him to what we're doing because we're not God.
Edna Harding [00:09:58]:
He is. I hope I'm making sense if we're gonna dig deep. Even more to this, because God's promises are different. Now let's look at how God's promises work. First of all, the foundation of God's promises is, number one, God is the source of every good thing. For example, it says every good and perfect thing comes God. It also says in everything, in, in him do we move and have our being. So everything is so everything belongs to Him.
Edna Harding [00:10:27]:
He. He could do whatever he wants with it. It's him, it's his things. He just lends it to us. Number two, he promises rest on his character, not your performance. Let me say that one more time. His promises rest on his character, not your performance. He's to going good because he's good.
Edna Harding [00:10:46]:
You know, he has blessings because of who he is, not who we are. Faith is about receiving what he already prepared. That's number three. So yes, there are times when there are a lot of scriptures that are conditional. But a lot of those things that he gives us is because He's a good father. He's faithful, he's kind, he's merciful. Like, how many of you guys have received things that is just like, I don't deserve this guy. Like, this is I.
Edna Harding [00:11:12]:
You're too good to me. I've. I've experienced this time and time again where I'm Like, God, this is too much. I can't handle your love. It's just too much like, I can't believe you did this for me kind of thing. Number four, his timing is perfect. Even when it feels delayed, even though when it feels like our flesh is dead, he is always on time. He never forgets what he promises, and he'll always come in honestly, in the most unconvenient time because he tends to do that.
Edna Harding [00:11:38]:
He tends to like to prove to us that he's not limited by anything. It just seems, you know, I laugh because now I realize that I stopped trying to control the outcome or control the timing. I just focus on my daily input, meaning I focus on today. Just like the scripture says, do not worry about tomorrow. Do not worry about look at the past. Just worry about today. And that's what I do. I focus my need to today, today.
Edna Harding [00:12:04]:
And don't worry about timeline. I mean, obviously there are certain things that I want to plan accordingly, but I'm not gonna, like, stress out too much, like, one day, two, three days ahead. Like, I'm just gonna focus on today. Does that make sense? All right. Because I know just based on experience that his timing is impeccable. Number five, his promises often require process, pruning, and preparation. So there's the three P's that nobody likes. The process, the pruning and preparation.
Edna Harding [00:12:34]:
Again. Process, pruning, preparation. Say it with me again. Process, pruning, preparation. If things are not yet what you want, it could be you're still in the process, you're still being prud, and God still wants you to prepare for what you've been praying for. Does that make sense? All right, so let's look at the differences between the two. Manifestation says you create God's promises, says he provides.
Speaker C [00:13:01]:
Okay?
Edna Harding [00:13:03]:
And then as far as basis, manifestation depends on your performance. God's promises depends on his faithfulness, okay? It's his faithful for his name's sake. How many times we said in the scriptures, like, I'm doing this for my name's sake. I'm doing this for my name's sake. It's for his character that's on the line. It's because of who he is. Because who. Who you are in him through him is because of his name that his promises are fulfilled.
Edna Harding [00:13:36]:
Number three. Timeline, manifestation, promises, quick results. You know, I've seen, like, a commercial or video, I don't remember exactly, some lady who said she was a millionaire, she had her husband, she had this, this, and this, and all in a short amount of Time within a year because they promise quick results. But in reality, God's promises unfold in his timing. And a lot of times it's not an overnight. A lot of times it's a journey. It's a journey and it's a faith test. I mean, there are some things that are instantaneous.
Edna Harding [00:14:06]:
I've seen that in my baby Christian days. But as I mature in Christ, I realize that the test gets harder, the test gets longer. And it's definitely a place where God is maturing his saints to build muscles of faith and muscles of trust and muscles of obedience so that we can handle the bigger reward. Okay. And as far as purpose, manifestation centers on personal desire, whereas God's promises centers on his kingdom purpose, which means it's a bigger impact. It's basically a grander, a grander scheme. Like we're so focused on our own world, but God is focused on the entire world. Does that make sense? He's tired of all the He's.
Edna Harding [00:14:49]:
He's focused on the entire nations. He's focused on the loss. He's focused on every single one of his child because he wants none to perish. Okay, that difference, everything that I just mentioned changes everything. Doesn't it? Doesn't it change everything? I hope you guys could see the difference between the two. Manifestation and fulfillment of God's promises are completely different. Now, I have heard people say manifestation of his promises. I mean, it's not specifically the word per se, but it's the concept.
Edna Harding [00:15:22]:
I just want you guys to know the difference. Like how is your heart posture supposed to be when you're doing these things right? Is it reliant on you? Or is it reliant on his faithfulness or his word or his character?
Speaker C [00:15:35]:
Right?
Edna Harding [00:15:37]:
Now the thing that I wanted to mention is there are a few things that I did that kind of changed the trajectory of my business and my life. And yes, I had my affirmations. Yes, I visualized the perfect client or the perfect life, the ideal income, the visions board. I've done all that. But that didn't change anything for me. In fact, it was just. Seems like I was just like lying to myself almost. What worked was when I started decreeing the word of God over my life, over my situation, I started visualizing the prophetic words that was spoken over me by God through his prophets.
Edna Harding [00:16:17]:
I. I stopped trying to create success and started receiving what God already prepared. Like God already prepared the way for me. And I just gotta walk in it. I just gotta ask the Lord, okay, what direction do I need to take for this day. I stopped forcing outcomes. I started aligning with his purposes. Like, I know he called, for example, I know he called me to be a speaker.
Edna Harding [00:16:36]:
I know he called me to train. I know he called me to help businesses create profit. I know he told me to be a virtuous woman, which means I have to be a good wife. I have to do all these things that the Lord tells us to do. So there's a lot of things that. That I think we, as the body of Christ, make complicated. Okay. It's more.
Edna Harding [00:17:00]:
It's. We. We try to come up with our purposes and ask God to line up with our purposes versus asking God, well, what is your purpose for me and us Line up with his purpose. Does that make sense now? And the third thing that I wanted to say was I stopped making myself the source and started living as the steward of his gifts. So I realized that everything that's inside of me is. Is from him, and I just have to steward it well. And the thing. It's like, it's kind of like a.
Edna Harding [00:17:28]:
You know, when you uncover treasures and like a treasure box, I had to uncover, like, what are my talents? What are my gifts? What are the things he's blessed me with that I just need to tap into and steward. Well, and when I say steward, I mean, how do I multiply my gifts? How do I multiply that impact?
Speaker C [00:17:46]:
Right.
Edna Harding [00:17:47]:
How do I multiply, you know, what he's instilled in me? Okay. So the business outcomes improved. Yes. But most importantly, the peace for me was undeniable. I was no longer striving from a position of stress. I was striving from a position of rest.
Speaker C [00:18:05]:
Right.
Edna Harding [00:18:06]:
So I was taking action. It's not even striving. I was just walking in it. I was just walking in the fullness of what God had for me. Because I wasn't striving anymore. I was just stewarding my time well. I was stewarding my relationships well. I was stewarding my family well.
Edna Harding [00:18:21]:
I was stewarding my body well. I was literally stewarding everything that concerned me well. And that took time for me to get to that point to stop worrying about tomorrow, to stop worrying about next month, but to only focus on this day and also stop dwelling on my past successes or my past failures and only worry about this day. All right, so let's get practical real quick. The first thing, when it comes to goal setting, you know, manifestation says, I will attract $100,000 to share.
Speaker C [00:18:54]:
Right.
Edna Harding [00:18:55]:
And then God's promises, the way you would approach it Is like, okay, Lord, what are you calling me to steward this year? Well, how much money do I need to steward? Well, this year that is the goal you make. So it's not about what you want, it's what God wants. Number two, when it comes to strategy, manifestation says, I'll align my energy to attract clients, right? I'll focus my energy on the things that gave me life and so forth and blah blah, blah, blah. Whereas God's promises says, I'll seek your wisdom to serve those you've called me to. So for example, for example, it is, I'm not even gonna lie, I'm gonna say it loud and clear. It's so much harder to work with broke clients than to work with rich clients. Let me tell you why. Because broke clients, you have to like baby them.
Edna Harding [00:19:43]:
You have to tell them what to do. You have like, you have to basically change your thing. It's a lot more harder work. I'll have more energy and it'll be easier for me to work with higher ticket clients because they're easier to work with. You don't have to keep them accountable. They're responsible. I mean, not say that everyone's responsible, but they, they tend to do what they say. They tend, you don't have to remind them anything.
Edna Harding [00:20:06]:
You don't have to do worksheets. They just do what you tell them to do. They just implement it, right? And versus the other way around. We have to constantly remind people, okay, you gotta do this, you gotta do that, there's more questions to ask. There's a lot of things that they don't know. And it's not to say anything bad, but the point of the matter is if I focus my energy on the higher ticket clients, yeah, I'll make more money. But I'm not in line with God's perfect will. God's perfect will.
Edna Harding [00:20:31]:
For me, I was to at that time serve others who the business coaches and the business mentors that the good ones are rejecting because they don't have the funds. Now it came to the point though, and there's a discernment aspect of it, right? When, you know, when that season has shifted. So for a little season, I helped those that were struggling help those startups, I helped those individuals. But what ended up happening was the Lord told me, okay, now that you know what to do, build systems to help those people. And I did. I built all the systems. I built all the software, the workbooks, all that stuff, basically the things that they need to get results. And he said, now I want to shift your focus back to the ones that.
Edna Harding [00:21:14]:
That I've really called you to now in this particular season, because you've already helped. That season is done. I finished my assignment well, and now he's calling me to those who actually can afford me. And that is going to make my life easier because I. I passed the test with that other aspect. And now he's giving me a new assignment, which is to basically influence leaders of larger organizations, larger movements and things like that, because they need to have the wisdom of God, because God wants to multiply their efforts, but he also wants it to align up with his purposes and his agenda. So my point is, I had to shift my focus whenever he tells me to do. The point of the matter is you have to seek God's wisdom to serve those you've called to at that specific season of your life.
Edna Harding [00:22:02]:
Okay. Whether if it's easier or harder, it doesn't matter. The point of the matter is you follow God's leading. All right? And the third thing I want to talk about is setbacks. Manifestation says, I think I need to take allergy medicine. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I must have negative beliefs causing this. Whereas God's promises says God, what are you teaching me in this season?
Speaker C [00:22:25]:
Right?
Edna Harding [00:22:26]:
So it's not about you. You're like, okay, I must have not thinking clearly. No, it could be like, God, what are you showing me? What. What is this lesson teach? What is the lesson that you're trying to teach me during this time? The last aspect that I want to cover. Success. Manifestation says, I manifested this. God's promises says God, you are faithful and you used me as your vessel. Okay, so bottom line is this.
Edna Harding [00:22:52]:
There are differences between manifestation of fulfillment of God's promises. There is a lot of scripture around this. I'm going to start reading them here quickly. Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, give you hope, and not to harm you, and give you hope and a bright future. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean on your own understanding in all your ways. And God, acknowledge him, and he will make your right path straight. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6.
Edna Harding [00:23:19]:
The third one is Philippians 4:19, which says, and my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of glory in Christ Jesus. Every one of these centers go as God as the source.
Speaker C [00:23:33]:
Right?
Edna Harding [00:23:34]:
God as the source. He is a source. He is a source. Just get that in your head. He is king, you are his what his servant.
Speaker C [00:23:42]:
Right.
Edna Harding [00:23:42]:
He is king. You are his what? His manager.
Speaker C [00:23:46]:
Right?
Edna Harding [00:23:46]:
He's king. He's just a stewardess. You were steward. You were a stewardess. Stewardess of. That's the word. You are stewarding what he entrusted you. Well, if you want to get promoted in this kingdom, you have to do well with a little and then he'll give you much more.
Speaker C [00:24:00]:
Right?
Edna Harding [00:24:01]:
So let's get practical. Number one, stop striving. Start receiving. This is going to make things easier for you, right? Stop striving and start receiving. It's that simple. Okay. He has already put aside the blessings for you. Start receiving.
Edna Harding [00:24:18]:
Start receiving.
Speaker C [00:24:20]:
Right?
Edna Harding [00:24:20]:
Number two. And how do you receive? Thank you, Holy Spirit. How do you receive? By obedience. Obedience. Obey what he tells you to do. Number two, don't just picture what you want. Ask God what He wants. It's not about what you want, it's what he wants.
Edna Harding [00:24:33]:
Number three, it's not about pulling success in, is about walking in step with his spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit, what are you doing today? How can I co labor with what you're doing on the earth? Number four, let go of control. Lean into stewardship. You're not in charge. He is. He's just entrusting you with an assignment. Finish that assignment. Well, then he'll give you another assignment.
Edna Harding [00:24:55]:
The reason why you have not had another assignment. Could it be is that you haven't finished that assignment. Well, and last but not least, when breakthrough comes, what do you do? You give glory to God. It's not on you. It's on Him. Remove that pride that is Satan's biggest sin was pride. All right. So if this episode stirred something in you, if you recognize manifestation thinking has crept into your business.
Edna Harding [00:25:19]:
Here's your next step. Send me a request. Let's get on a call. Let's figure out how to align up your line up your business with God's purposes, God's truth, God's promises, and watch your trajectory of your business and life change for the better. Okay. If you're tired of going around the hamster wheel, if you're tired of being stuck, please, please, please send me a DM. Contact me on my website, favorite.com. connect with me on LinkedIn.
Edna Harding [00:25:48]:
Go on my app. There's so many ways to reach me. Okay, go and find out how to connect. And let's go ahead and schedule a one on one. I usually have some special offer going every month to help those who might not have a budget. But please, please, please don't do nothing. It's time to walk into all that God has for you. But it's going to take one revelation.
Edna Harding [00:26:13]:
It only takes one revelation to change your life. Okay? And that revelation is hidden in his word.
Speaker C [00:26:19]:
All right.
Edna Harding [00:26:20]:
Well, my friends, remember that you're not called to manifest your dreams. You're called to stewards God's vision. His promises are yes and amen. Not because of your performance, but because of his faith faithfulness. Let's go ahead and close in prayer, and then we can end our episode. So, Father, we thank you for reminding us today that you are the source. We repent for the times we've tried to take control. And we realign ourselves with your promises.
Edna Harding [00:26:46]:
Strengthen every listener with peace and clarity. In the mighty name of Jesus. In the mighty name of Jesus. Well, friends, this is Edna Harding, and I'll see you guys next time on the Estrepreneur podcast. Take care. Bye. Bye.
Speaker D [00:27:04]:
Thanks for joining us this week on Estrepreneur. Make sure to Visit our website, favorandwealth.com for more information on our services. While you're at it, if you found value in this show, we'd appreciate a rating on itunes. Or if you simply tell a friend about the show, that would help me out, too. Also, check out my book, the Ugly side of Sales, available on Amazon, where I share seven of my secrets on how to win and grow business the right way. Until next time, keep shining.