Recently, I shared my testimony of a business that God put into my life and how He guided my life as I built it to a friend of mine in South Africa. Many memories flooded my mind, and I felt the power behind it and thought, what an amazing testament to God and how much he loves us all.
I am convinced many believers in Christ are never taught that God has a specific plan for them, and even if they are aware of it, they don’t know how to pursue it.
You don’t run across a lot of teaching in the church about following the Spirit of God to fulfill your plan and purpose. It’s all obscure and mysterious, but it should not be.
I pray this testimony of mine will bless you and help you identify key elements in your own life.
You may see that God is leading you or that you can find the missing links that you desperately need.
There is a Plan of God for Your Life
Romans 11:29 (NLT) — 29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.
100 percent, without a shadow of a doubt, God has a plan and purpose for every human being on this earth. It is our responsibility to discover it through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will reveal it to you. You must be intentional about it.
For those who are reading this, you may know what it is, or you may not. You may be confused in navigating through the process. Things may seem fuzzy and not clear. You may have wanted to quit many times over.
Proverbs 3:5–6 (NLT) — 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
The key is to know He has a plan for you. That you need to trust Him with that plan no matter what. It does not matter how scary it may seem or how impossible it may be. We can't depend on ourselves. Trust me, I have messed up so many times in trying to do it on my own. I have now learned I only depend on the Lord.
We must seek him with everything inside of us, and as you do, I promise you, He, the Lord, will make your paths straight.
God heard my prayer
As a new missionary in Central America, I was looking at my financial resources and realizing that I needed more. Not so much so for our ministry as per se, but for our personal needs. We needed to buy things for ourselves, like clothes, cell phones, etc. I didn't want to pull the money from our ministry account.
As a former business owner prior to the mission field, trying to find a new business idea was my go-to. Since I was in a foreign country and my language skills were quite restrictive, I didn't see many opportunities.
1 John 5:14–15 (NLT) — 14 And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. 15 And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
So, I did what I learned 20 to 30 years ago: I prayed. I didn't want to do anything that God was not going to be involved with. I simply told God that I wanted an extra source of income. I wanted to ensure it was His plan and not mine. I didn't want it to rob from my ministry as in time.
As 1 John 5:14-15 says, we must be confident that the Lord hears us whenever we ask for anything that please him. I had total peace in my heart with my prayer. I actually believe God was leading me to pray for it. On top of that, I knew He was going to answer it as well.
Be Patient, There Is a Lot Going On
Romans 8:25 (NLT) — 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.
When we pray for God to move, many of us expect to see a physical ramification immediately. Are there times that it will happen instantly? Absolutely! I can't tell you how many times I have prayed for healing, and instantly, it came forth. It does happen. Then there are countless times we pray for something, and we don't see physical results when we want to.
Let me remind you of the Bible story of when Daniel prayed. That his answer to prayer was delayed. Finally, a messenger came to him and told him that the day he prayed, it was heard in heaven. For 21 days, the prince of Persia (a demonic force) blocked his way, and then one of the archangels, Michael, came to help him.
We live in a microwave society, and we expect God to move on our timing. Guess what, it doesn't work that way. I always tell people that when we believe God for something. There is a physical realm and a spiritual one. We have to let God move behind the scenes. Many times, he has to work through people and circumstances. As we see in Daniel's case, in the heavenlies, immediately his prayer was heard, and heaven moved on his behalf.
In my case, I didn't get an immediate answer to what I prayed for. The Holy Spirit didn't just pop something in my head and say, this is the business you should open up. No, I patiently waited for a couple of months for the Lord to show me what it was I was to do. The key was, I didn't rush out and try to make something happen, I patiently waited for the Lord to manifest it. I knew from past experience he had to set everything up.
YUP, God set it up alright
Psalm 37:23 (NLT) — 23 The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
When we live lives that are godly and pleasing unto the Lord, He delights in every detail of our lives. He directs our steps. Part of directing our steps is lining up everything behind the scenes so we will walk into His plan.
Living in Honduras, you experience a lot of fun stuff, like having your electricity go out over and over. After dealing with it for about 2 years, I was done with it. I wanted to get a generator. So, I jumped on Facebook to ask our Honduras mission group if anyone had a generator they wanted to sell. A good friend of mine that I met in 2008 in Honduras said he had one and would give it to me! Mind you, this was about a couple of months after I prayed that I wanted an extra source of income.
So, I drove across the country (about 5 hours) with my pastor friend from Copan Ruinas to pick it up. Once we arrived at the house where the generator was, the guy who was living there gave us a tour. My friend Billy wasn't there; he was in the USA at the time. In the backyard, they had a food-growing system called Aquaponics. It's a contraption that is all self-contained with plants, water, and fish. I looked at it for a whole brief moment and thought, that's nice. I stress this for a reason, cause I wasn't really interested. LOL
I am sure you realize right now God's plan for my life and to develop an income had something to do with this contraption. You are correct.
Hey, Knucklehead, I'm talking to you
Isaiah 30:21 (NLT) — 21 Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
God doesn't scream in our faces. IT'S THIS WAY! Many times, it's the still small voice of the Holy Spirit nudging us along the path of God. We have to spend time in prayer and meditation before the Lord. In solitude, you will sense the voice of the Holy Spirit saying, go this way.
Fast forward, I got home with the new-to-me generator. It was all set up and running good. I was happy that I would have electricity when the power went out.
The house we lived in had a really nice backyard with a block wall around it. Not only was it big, but private. I always enjoyed it because it was peaceful.
One morning, I was overlooking the backyard; God told me to build an aquaponics system in a still small voice. I was like, God, I know I didn't just hear that. I chalked it up as a wild thought and went back inside the house.
Then a couple of days later, again, in a still small voice, the Holy Spirit said, to build an aquaponics system in the backyard. At this point in time, I knew it was God, and an interest started rising in my heart to do so. Bear in mind, at this point in time, I hadn't connected the dots on this being a business idea.
I Started Cooking the Plan
Psalm 25:9 (NLT) — 9 He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way.
I have always been one to trust God and know that He will lead me fully into His plan for my life. I am not saying I have been perfect in this, but it started in my early days as a believer and opening my first business. I learned to lean on Him hard to teach me His ways.
It didn't take me long to start looking into how to build an aquaponics system. I am not a rocket scientist by any means, but in my days in the Army, I was a mechanic. So, I had some idea how mechanical things worked.
The more I studied and watched YouTube videos, the more I got confused. I called my friend Billy, and it was like he was talking in code. I did the best I could by gathering information. I knew I needed a water pump, aerator, various types of connectors, etc. The part I was having issues with was how to lay it out and how to build the foundation of it.
Around this time, my father passed away, and I had to fly to the USA to attend his funeral. While there, I ordered all the stuff, and I call it stuff for a reason, cause that's all it was to me. Stuff that I really didn't know where it went. It was stuff videos and books I read said I needed to have.
Remember, all I was doing was going by the Holy Spirit softly telling me to build an aquaponics system. All along, I am praying for help and guidance. At this point in time, I am a little thin on the help and guidance other than just operating on cruise control.
Sometimes Situations are Not Coincidental but God Designed
Romans 8:28 (NLT) — 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
God loves to show up and show off in the least moments of expectation. I can say this, in 33 years of serving Him, He has never failed me. He has always been there for me. God will move mountains for us to ensure life is tilted in our favor. We must believe this and expect it in our hearts by faith.
This struggle of trying to figure out how to build the system was racking my brain. Looking back and knowing what I know now in how to build the system, I don't know what I was stressing over. Honestly, it is pretty simple to build.
As you know, I was in the USA, but now, at this moment, I am flying back to Honduras with a suitcase of stuff that somehow I am supposed to install on the new aquaponics system that I am about to build.
While sitting on my plane in Des Moines, IA, the plane got held up because the door hinge was broken. That literally made me miss my connecting flight from Atlanta to Honduras. After getting to Atlanta, I went over to the Delta help desk. I told the lady that I needed to rebook my flight. She proceeded to put me on the flight for tomorrow.
I asked her for the same seat, the exit row seat, that I had that day. She apologized and said that she couldn't promise that. Then she blurted out, "You are going to Honduras, and I am from Honduras." I was like, "Cool, I live in Copan Ruinas." She said, "My friend lives in Copan Ruinas." Long story short, I knew her friend, and I got the exit row seat and booked for the next flight out the next day.
Remember, I got the same seats as before. VERY VERY Important!
I Have a Ministry By the Name, GloDev, OK, What's GloDev?
Acts 9:36 (NLT) — 36 There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor.
Many times, following God and His plans for our lives will require aid and help from others. Tabitha was much help to Apostle Paul. God will do the same for us by sending us the Tabithas of the world and also requiring us to be a Tabitha to others as well. The key is to look for these moments.
The next day, I loaded onto the plane headed to Honduras. I got in my favor of God exit row seat, bless God. I am settling down for my 4-hour flight, and I want to zone out and not talk to anyone, LOL.
As the plane was loading, the stewardess came up and talked to all the people in the exit row seats. She asked if we were all able to assist in case of an emergency. There was an elderly lady in the seats across the aisle. She said she was not able to help. They then proceeded to move her up to another seat. Now, the seats next to me were completely empty.
About 5 minutes later, the stewardess was moving a couple from the back into the seats. The woman said, "Oh, favor of God." I was like, cool, they must be Christians.
The plane taxied down the runway, and we were up in the air. At last, peace and quiet for me. I say this because that was my full intention, to chill and not say a word to anyone.
But God, LOL, had another plan. While reading and minding my own business, the Lord told me to say something to the guy across the aisle next to me. I was like, what am I supposed to say, God? Over and over, he keeps telling me to say something.
So, I mumbled, are you a missionary in Honduras? He proceeded to tell me that he and his wife train missionaries, and he is on his way to a week-long training session. Then he tells me that he also operates a ministry called GloDev.
Obviously, this is a unique name and it got my curiosity. I asked, what is GloDev? He told me that he built aquaponics systems. Wait what? Did you say you build aquaponics systems?
Needless to say, I made a new friend on this flight. He shared a bunch of info with me. That same week, I personally met him in San Pedro Sula. He helped me by designing my system.
The Lord was so gracious by lining everything up and orcrastrating that whole entire thing to get me connected with Tim, with GloDev.
The Building of the Aquaponics System
With the diagram in hand, I was ready to roll. I quickly purchased the rest of the items needed. I recruited my Honduran friends and my dog Larry to help me build the system.
Just like any other good social media guy, I thought it was a good idea to video the building process and post it on Facebook. Still, at this point, I had no clue that this was going to be the future income I prayed for. I can't say; the Lord told me to video it. I just did it.
After many posts on Facebook, a missionary friend of mine in Honduras asked me to help Him build a system. I told him that I would throw a compilation video together and post it on YouTube.
The Moment of Realization That God Was up to Something
Acts 16:9 (NLT) — 9 That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”
There are moments in your life when God will use something to get your attention. In this case, Apostle Paul received a vision of a Macedonia man asking for Paul to come there. I am not saying I had a vision, but I had my Ah-Hah, moment.
Remember when I said I had thrown the video on YouTube? Well, I was sitting in my home and looking at YouTube. The video was blowing up and going viral. When you searched for the term "aquaponics," it was like the 3rd video on YouTube.
I will never forget sitting there in my chair that I prayed in and saying, "This is money!"
Praying in My Heavenly Pray Language Through the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:13 (NLT) — 13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.
In many cases, the last thing we need is worldly wisdom, and the most we need is wisdom straight from the throne room of God. I don't discount wisdom from the world, but I know how to properly place it in my life. Right behind the wisdom, God gives me through the Holy Spirit.
Apostle Paul said that a person who speaks in tongues (praying in the Spirit) is strengthened personally. He also said I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you. Apostle Paul lived a life praying in the Spirit. He also said, follow me as I follow Christ. We as believers should make a practice of praying in the Spirit in our private time. Then we will be edified, and the Holy Spirit will reveal wisdom from God to us through our spirits.
I was smart enough to know I didn't have a clue how to figure this out on my own. I didn't know what I should do to turn this into money. So, I spent hours upon hours in my chair praying in the Spirit. As I did, the Holy Spirit began to reveal things to me, and I wrote everything down as fast as I could.
He began to show me how to write a book, which I had never done before, LOL. He told me how to get other aquaponic building projects to use them in them book. He showed me how the website should look. He even had a guy that I never even knew to call me about aquaponics. He had some questions. In the phone call, he gave me advice on how to process the credit card charge and automatically send the eBook to the person who bought it.
Never discount the need for the Holy Spirit in your life. He lives inside of you. He will reveal all the truth to us; we just have to let Him. This comes through personal time with the Lord, praying, and reading the written Word of God.
Long Story Short
It took me approximately 3 months to write the eBook and build the website. In May of 2016, I went live. I connected the website to the YouTube video that was going viral to push the viewers over to the website; by that time, the video had probably been viewed close to 100,00 times. Sales of the eBook started cranking out immediately.
That was close to 8 years ago. I have sold thousands of eBooks in over 75 countries around the world. We were financially blessed beyond measure, especially for missionaries. I have met countless people, and it has been a blessing to be connected to them. It has opened many other doors of opportunity for me as well.
Today, the interest in aquaponics has dwindled, and the market has been flooded with other videos and books written by aquaponics builders. We still get a small income from it, but that's okay. Years ago, I was talking to a friend about the financial business we both were in. He told me something I will never forget, "Shawn, it's only a wave; you need to ride it as long as you can but know when to jump off."
We don't always know how long a wave from God will last, but the key is this. Stay close to the Holy Spirit in prayer, be obedient, dare to trust God, and watch what He will do! God will always lead and guide you!
Shawn Paul is an author and missionary who has been living and working in Central America for the past 10 years. He is passionate about living for Jesus Christ and inspiring others to do the same, which is the focus of his blog, where he shares his expertise in Christianity.
In addition to his missionary work, Shawn enjoys reading books, studying God's Word, growing plants and flowers, feeding birds, and keeping up with the latest technology.
As a writer, Shawn's unique perspective and passion for his faith shine through in his work. Shawn's goal for the future is to impact people around the world for Jesus through his writing and missionary work.