One of the most challenging counseling calls I receive is when someone’s struggling to determine whether or not they should close the doors of their business. Oftentimes, I have to work through it with them and understand all the issues.

Many times, what’s going on is this fear of closing something down that just plain isn’t working. I have to remind them that every day that they stay open, if the only way they are staying open is by the fact that they’re using money from creditors then in essence, they’re stealing money from those creditors. That is not God- honoring. There’s a time when they have to pull the plug, because they just cant’ move forward without stealing from other people.

Romans 13:7-8 says, “Give to everyone what you owe them. If you owe taxes, pay taxes. If revenue, then revenue. If respect, then respect. If honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.”

Many times, people struggle with determining whether or not this business is still their calling and their purpose, and where they should go from there, and whether or not they should still stick to it and try and move forward. There’s an old saying that says, “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, and expect the same result, that’s the definition of insanity.”

We don’t want people to continue trying to do something that just isn’t going to work. Here’s a few questions that I usually ask people that are calling in with this kind of an issue. First question I tell them to ask themselves, “Is the business still your calling? Has God called you there, or is He asking you to move on to something else?” You have to wrestle through that personally.

Second question is, “Do you have a viable plan to turn this business around?” That an objective outsider would agree that it’s viable. The third question is, “What does your spouse think?” Many times, we ignore the counsel of our spouse, but they know us and they know whether or not we’re in the right place.

It’s a hard time and a hard season to make those kinds of decisions. As a little encouragement, we should remember what God said to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you. The plans to prosper you and not to harm you but plans to give you hope and a future.”

My hope for you is, as you ask yourself those questions, and you look to the Lord for answers as to whether or not it’s time to pull the plug or to just persevere, I pray that God will give you wisdom in that, and that you would do the right thing.