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Your business problem may not be a business problem.
The Estherpreneur Podcast examines what most business conversations miss: the condition of the builder behind the business.
Hosted by Edna Harding, Christ-Centered Business Architect and CEO of Favor & Wealth, this show helps founders identify what is actually limiting growth—strategy, structure, sales, leadership, capacity, identity, stewardship, or spiritual misalignment.
We question business advice that produces growth without wisdom, visibility without capacity, revenue without stewardship, and success at the expense of the person carrying it.
Expect biblical truth, practical business strategy, uncomfortable questions, and conversations about sales, money, leadership, spiritual warfare, emotional maturity, and building in obedience to God.
Because sometimes you don't need another strategy.
You need to identify what is actually out of order.
“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established.” — Proverbs 24:3
Estherpreneur.com | FavorandWealth.com | EsthersOil.org
Edna Harding [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Estherpreneur, 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. Hi, I'm Edna. 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. Well, hello everyone.
Edna Harding [00:00:47]:
Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the Estrepreneur Podcast. My name is Edna Harding, and I'm so excited that you guys are joining me again on this week's episode. This week's episode was one that I think, well, at least for me personally, I struggle with the most out of all the challenges that I may have overcome. Um, this might be one that is really testing my faith. And so before we begin, I just want to welcome you guys. I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you for tuning in. And, uh, I know you guys are in the right place at the right time. The Holy Spirit has his way of putting this message in front of the right people.
Edna Harding [00:01:35]:
And if you're listening to this, know that it's not an accident and that God is speaking to you. All right, so this episode we're gonna focus on leaving the rest to him. Okay, and I know, I know, don't tune me out like, oh, it's another cliché message. I get it. I get it, but, um, that is not what this is. This is a cliché— I guess you could call it cliché message, but a very relevant and a very practical but also very important message. Okay, um, you know, last year— so I'm recording this right now in February 2026, um, I don't know when this is gonna air, um, but Last year, 2025, was a year that I was moving about 1,000 miles per hour. I was building all the things that was on the list that God told me to prioritize.
Edna Harding [00:02:32]:
I built it all by November. I was already done with everything. So I was building, I was launching, I was strategizing, I was expanding. The momentum was strong, ideas were flowing, right? Results were happening. And not only that, I wasn't burnt out. I was— I would— I— God gave me the pace of grace. I mean, guys, I was getting up, and I know this sounds crazy, I was getting up between 2 to 3 AM, still had enough energy to work as gracefully, thoughtfully, and then of course, and then take care of the children, do all these activities, get involved. Um, But I didn't feel burnt out.
Edna Harding [00:03:13]:
I mean, yeah, I was a little bit tired. I rested, watched a movie sometimes, you know, I took naps here and there. But God gave me the grace to— he sustained me. It was like a supernatural energy, if that makes sense. It wasn't something that I'm like— people are like, how do you do all this? Even my clients and my students are like, how do you do all this? And I could tell you that Even myself, I'm like, how did I do all that? But I'm not going to lie, my friends, I kind of enjoyed it. I like the pace. I'm a very productive person. I love to plan and execute, right? That's one of the things about me.
Edna Harding [00:03:53]:
I like the pace, you know, it felt productive. I felt like I was like making progress. I felt like I was being empowered by God. Um, but then this year, in the beginning of this year, um, the instruction changed. God told me to rest, simplify, right? Um, make things easier, right? Not— he didn't tell me to pivot, he didn't tell me to expand, he didn't tell me to accelerate. He told me to rest and to leave the rest to him. And do you know how hard that is? Anybody else in the building? Rest sounds so spiritual until it costs you emotion, you know. Um, when God asked me to rest, it confronted something deeper in me than just my calendar, right? I mean, I was already lessening my work hours anyway, but the fact of the matter is I It was more like, who am I without building? You know, who am I when I'm not producing? Who am I when I'm not visible? Who am I when I'm not building something new? And I was trying to figure it out.
Edna Harding [00:05:16]:
I was really trying to figure it out. In fact, I met with one of my— one of my past— my pastor's wife the other day, and we're talking about hobbies and we're talking about things that we do, we can do, to just, to just get, you know, just rest. And I didn't know what to do. Like, what he asked me, like, what do you do for fun? I was like, I don't know. Like, I enjoy working. Like, I enjoy, um, you know, building something new. I enjoy helping. Like, God has always been, um, like, I love what I do.
Edna Harding [00:05:50]:
It doesn't feel like work. But then God told me, no, you have to come up with something else. So I couldn't be you know, doing those things. And, um, I realized that when you're moving 1,000 miles per hour, you then start confusing, you know, motion with obedience. Like, you're thinking you're obeying, but you're just going through the motions, right? And unfortunately, movement— just because you're moving doesn't mean you're aligned. And just because you love Jesus doesn't mean you're aligned either. Um, and so being in that place of the Lord saying, okay, I need you to slow down— and mind you, I am not the only one. I have several other friends who are like, I don't know what's happening, but like, I don't have an assignment.
Edna Harding [00:06:35]:
Like, I'm just chilling, just waiting. And, um, and I, I guess that's the tension, right? Okay, um, when God tells you to build, it feels exciting, and then when he tells you to rest, it feels like it's dangerous. Like, what in the world? Should it be the opposite? Um, but I think it's harder to rest than to build. Now hear me, hear me when I say this, you know, it's harder to rest than to build. Building is easier than resting, okay? Because resting requires trust. It requires, you know, believing that the same God who initiated your assignment, the one he gave you, can sustain it without your constant striving. And if we're honest— is anybody else honest in the building? Building feels safer than surrender, right? Because what does building give to all my A-type people? Anybody? Building gives control. And what happens is when you rest, it exposes whether we truly trust God.
Edna Harding [00:07:45]:
And that's why I think this year has been harder than all those years where I was building the thing. Okay, because last year I was building hard, you know, not from rebellion. I wasn't trying to go disobey God. I wasn't, because that's exactly what God wanted me to do. But then this year he's like, leave the rest to me. Like, you've done your part, leave the rest to me. And I'm like, huh? Like, what? Like, just do nothing? So what do you do? And I remember my client was like— my client said that. She was like, just be.
Edna Harding [00:08:19]:
I was like, just be what? Like, I don't know what to be. Um, but one thing I've learned is when we leave the rest to God, we're not abandoning stewardship. Because me, I'm like, okay, well, am I not being faithful a little? Like, you're not giving me more responsibility. Is, you know, is this wrong? Like, we start second-guessing ourselves. And I'm like, I, I'm okay with responsibility. I can handle it, Lord. But he's literally giving me rest. And I remember, um, the Lord reminded me, he's like, stop pushing what I've already blessed.
Edna Harding [00:09:03]:
Stopped striving to what he's already authored in my life. He already ordained that portion to me. No devil in hell can stop that portion. No devil in hell can take that away from me. Unless I allow it. Because God gave us authority to stand firm on his word that that is my inheritance, right? And so I obeyed. I obeyed. I slowed down.
Edna Harding [00:09:32]:
I simplified. I pulled back from unnecessary expansion. Could I have done other things? I probably could have done some more. There's a few things that on my list that you know, I could do just because coaches say, but I, I didn't really get the grace to do it. Does that make sense? Like, I know I'm supposed to do a short training. I know I'm supposed to do like a keynote. I mean, I did, I did a keynote outline. I did a keynote presentation, but I'm supposed to do like a pre-recorded keynote.
Edna Harding [00:10:01]:
I'm supposed to do a bunch of things and I didn't because I didn't feel like it because I felt like there was no grace in my spirit to do it. Does that make sense? I hope I'm making sense. And here's what didn't happen when I pulled back and what I didn't do. Everything didn't collapse. It's still going and going. Even when I closed one client, I got another client to replace it, right? Even when certain clients were struggling, right, God replaced it with something else. What I'm saying is he took care of it as I rested. Clients were still served, provision still flowed, opportunities still came.
Edna Harding [00:10:45]:
And the thing is, is because I was never the source, he was. You understand? I was never the source of it all, he was. And rest exposed how suddenly I had started acting like everything depended on me when it it's not. And I know this is an oxymoron because you hear about like faith without works is dead, and I understand that. So yes, you can't just sit there lazy and expect things to come to me, but if you have been, um, putting your hands to the plow, if you have been steady, if you have been building the thing and you've been doing everything you can to follow his instructions, and when he tells you to rest, you better rest, my friend. Okay, and this isn't just spiritual language, my friends. In, um, you know, in 2019— and although I hope this is legit— this is what they found. In 2019, the World Health Organization officially classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon caused by unmanaged chronic stress.
Edna Harding [00:11:54]:
In fact, symptoms include exhaustion, mental distance, reduced effectiveness. In other words, when we refuse to rest, we don't become more productive. So we become less clear. What else happens? You know, we just feel fatigue. And neuroscience actually supports this. In fact, in the University of Southern California, it shows that when the brain enters what's called the default mode network, which is usually activated during quiet rest and reflection, your creativity improves, problem-solving strengthens, and then you get, you know, your long-term strategic thinking increase. So what happens then is your brain was designed to think clearly, okay, in stillness. Which, isn't it amazing how before neuroscience says this, scripture already said it? Thousands of years ago when it says, be still and know that I'm God.
Edna Harding [00:12:57]:
So, so again, you have God telling you stillness is important so you could think clearly. And then, and, and neuroscience, and I forgot the— what do you call this— WHO supports this as well, that it's actually good for you to rest. So like, when God tells us to rest, why do we stop it? Why do we block God from doing it? And why do we block ourselves from doing— why do we block God from telling us to do so? And what I found— and don't kill the messenger— is the enemy isn't ambition, it's actually self-reliance. It's the quiet belief that if we stop pushing, everything falls apart. But God reminds us that unless the Lord builds this house, the labor the laborer's labor in vain. Now I want to say something. I know you're like, oh my gosh, Anna, here's that verse again. Well, let me tell you, there's a reason why it's in there.
Edna Harding [00:14:00]:
Like, do you want to build something knowing that it's not going to last? I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't have that time, okay? I'm getting older. I'm in my 40s. I'm like, I'm exhausted. I don't need to— when I say exhausted, it's like I don't have as much energy as before. So if I'm going to do something, I expect it to work. Okay, and what I love about rest is rest is not doing nothing, it's just trusting someone to do it for you, right? Now again, there's another extreme to this where you don't do anything at all and expect God to move. It doesn't work that way as well. All right, so here's what we're going to do.
Edna Harding [00:14:33]:
I'm going to give you guys a framework, um, just to make it marketing soundy. We call it the 4 Rs of Holy Rest, okay? Here's what it looks like practically, okay? Number 1, release. Write down everything you feel responsible for sustaining, for sustaining, okay? So write it all down, and then what you do is you pray. You say, God, this is yours. You gave it, you sustain it. Name it specifically. For example, Revenue, team, visibility, growth, book, house, um, office. Release it.
Edna Harding [00:15:16]:
That's it. You write down everything you feel responsible for and then release it to God. The second thing you want to do is reduce. Cut one non-essential commitment this week. Just one. Not everything. Just one. Because margin creates space for clarity.
Edna Harding [00:15:35]:
All right, so reduce just one thing, just one thing. What can you reduce today? Number 3, I want you to reconnect. So 5 minutes of silence before you work. No music, no journaling, no multitasking. Just sit and ask, Lord, what are you saying today? This is hard to do. I struggle with this even now. To just be quiet. I'll try this again after here.
Edna Harding [00:16:04]:
I'm gonna try to do it. Be still and be quiet. No music, no nothing. Just lay down and be quiet, and then do not move until your heart settles. Okay, and the last R is rebuild. Rebuild. What does that mean? After 2 weeks of intentional slowing, ask yourself what produces fruit with grace. Keep what flows with peace, right? I mean, I can't even— like, keep something that is just light as a feather and eliminate what requires constant striving.
Edna Harding [00:16:39]:
And you build around grace. Just, just hear this one tip: build around grace, not pressure, and watch God move in mighty, mighty ways. All right, so I want you guys to pause wherever you are right now. Okay, if you're driving, I want you to just soften your breathing. Okay, if you're sitting, I want you to close your eyes, take one deep breath, and release it slowly. Now ask yourself, what am I grouping tightly right now? What is it that you're holding tight? Is it your revenue? Is it your timeline? Is it an outcome? Is it a launch? Is it a level of growth? Is it your past? Like, what are you— experience, your heart? Like, what is it? And picture placing that thing on your hands. Now, in your spirit, open your hands. Open your hands and say quietly, God, you are the source.
Edna Harding [00:17:48]:
You gave this to me. You sustain it, Lord. I release control. You know, another way of doing this— I remember when I was God-ordained at Joan Hunter Ministries, she said to use Kleenex. So you would take the Kleenex tissue and put it in your hand, and then as you release it, you just put that tissue box in a trash can or in somebody else's hand. That was really powerful. That really set me free. That little exercise set me free in 2017.
Edna Harding [00:18:20]:
All right, now take another breath, and I want you to ask God, is there anything you're asking me to slow down? Don't rush to answer, just be quiet. And if something does surface, don't argue. Just acknowledge it. Like, my thing was, like, for me specifically, because I'm very vulnerable on this show, is I struggled a lot with blaming my children for my inability to focus on my business. That was a while, because I'm like, oh my goodness, I keep getting interrupted. And then, and I know we know that our family is our biggest ministry, right? And our best ministry. But I'm glad, even though I didn't always do it right, I'm glad I did listen to the Holy Spirit. And even though it wasn't always the right attitude, I would stop, I would take care of the children, I would focus on them, I would teach them God's ways.
Edna Harding [00:19:18]:
The Lord will work through me and just speak to me. And then now, even though they're only 4 and 6, they're very spiritually grounded. They know the truth about God, they know the truth about the Holy Spirit, about his voice. They know the truth about how to pray for people, about God's word, about his character, and it's all because I listened to the Holy Spirit. And for that, I'm forever grateful because that's one of my biggest desires even before, was that I would raise my children up in a way where they're spiritually grounded and spiritually prepared, because having seeing the ugly side of the world, I didn't want my children to go through that. Although obviously I cannot protect them from all things, but I could equip them as much as I can so that they don't have to experience unnecessary heartaches, you know, for the glory of God, you know. And so I, I love that part, and I'm glad the Holy Spirit didn't chastise me too much. He chastised me a little bit, he disciplined me a bit, but, um, thank God that by his grace I surrendered and the Lord helped me through that season.
Edna Harding [00:20:36]:
Okay, so remember that you have to acknowledge whatever God brings up. That was the thing God brought up to me, and you have to tell yourself or tell God I trust you, Father, more than I trust my momentum. And you just sit there for a few seconds, okay? And then just let your nervous system settle. I would just sit down in a couch and I would breathe, or I would sit on the floor and stare at the ceiling. Or what else did I do? I would color, I would walk. Walks really helped me a lot. But I would just Let my system settle. Let my mind slow down.
Edna Harding [00:21:22]:
Um, and one thing I can tell you is you're never behind. You're just being recalibrated. And just know that God's timing is always perfect. He can redeem the time even if you missed it. You're not losing ground. What you're doing is you're actually strengthening your roots. Okay, you're strengthening your roots. So at this time, just take one more breath.
Edna Harding [00:21:50]:
And I know it sounds so cliché, but really breathing and just— I would say, Lord, I want to breathe your spirit in me. Help me, oh God, to have a fresh infilling of your spirit. Okay, and I want you to tell yourself, I want you guys to make a prophetic decree and say, I am not No, sorry. I was never the source. I am the steward. And when you're ready, just open your eyes. Open your eyes. You know, I just want to close out by saying this, that last year I built at 1,000 miles per hour.
Edna Harding [00:22:37]:
And this year I'm learning to walk, walk by faith. And here's what I now know: what God authors, he sustains. What God initiates, he maintains. And what God calls forth, he provides. Okay? You do not have to exhaust yourself to prove your calling. He doesn't need our help, okay? Rest. Leave the rest to him, okay? And reconnect to the source. I'll see you guys on the inside.
Edna Harding [00:23:21]:
Blessings, my friend, and I will talk to you soon. Take care. Bye-bye. 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 7 of my secrets on how to win and grow business the right way. Until next time, keep shining.