Kairos Consultancy Group

Networking is a big buzzword in the business world. There is persistent advocacy for people to put themselves out there and build relationships that allow them to feed each other’s needs.

Similarly, human relationships are fundamental in kingdom business but the parameters are completely counter-cultural to what we’re used to hearing from the world. While self is at the centre of networking, God is at the centre of divine connections.

Purpose

God doesn’t do anything without good reason. This includes how He sets up divine connections for believers pursuing His purpose in the business world.

It’s important to understand why God has put you in certain people’s lives and them in yours because it helps you manage your expectations of yourself and of them. Devoid of this understanding, it’s easy to make wrong assumptions about how you’re supposed to relate with one another and the contribution you’re to make in each other’s lives.

Divine purpose requires grace to carry out. While the world looks at the outward exhibition of talent and ability to determine usefulness, the kingdom requires us to consider who God has given divine grace to supply into an aspect of our purpose.

Time & Season

God ordains purpose to be made manifest over different times and seasons. Each season comes with its unique requirements for demand and supply. As such, God will intentionally equip specific people with the ability to supply in specific ways in a given season; they have the divine grace to supply in that season.

Talent and ability mean little if the requisite grace for a season isn’t present. Even if someone is at the top of their game in a particular skill, if they lack in grace for the season at hand, they’re going to struggle to play their part.

This calls for us to be like the sons of Issachar who were discerning of the times and seasons in order to know what to expect from who in a given season. It also saves us from the inevitable disappointment and frustration that would result in expecting a certain level of supply from someone God hasn’t equipped for the season at hand.

Additionally, the discernment of times and seasons allows us to peacefully release people from certain obligations when the season for their supply comes to an end. There’s no need to be insistent or aggressive in our interaction with people when we can be led by the Holy Spirit in how we manage the ebb and flow of our relationships as the seasons change.

Relationship

Networking often takes the connotation of scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. It’s a tit for tat transaction that can often leave one or both parties feeling used.

But as believers we are called to love our neighbours AS we love ourselves. This means that how we relate to one another needs to be undergirded first and foremost by selfless love not selfish need. If anything, we sometimes need to put the needs of our neighbours above our own needs.

My neighbour is the person God positions in my life during this season not the one I’m trying to bring into my life solely based on my preferences, needs and comforts. I will serve you as I would want to be served and not so I can get something from you in return. My faithfulness in serving you is driven by my revelation of the purpose of God at work in you. These become some of the fundamental heart postures as we relate with people God has divinely connected us to. We honour them as we would honour God if we were interacting directly with Him.

While networking fronts the needs of self, divine connections push for the purpose of God to be made manifest which will result in the needs of the individuals involved being wholesomely met. Our relationships, even in business, must be led of the Holy Spirit.

Take Action:

Can you identify the divine connections God has put in place for you this season? How does He want you to interact with each one?