Strive v. Abide: Why I Paused My Business for an Entire Quarter

July
16 2026

To strive is to exert strenuous effort — to try exceptionally hard, to vigorously contend against difficulties in pursuit of a goal. It’s the word most of us would use to describe what it takes to build a business. Hustle harder. Push through. Grind it out.

But that’s the world’s way of building a business. God’s way is very different — and it includes rest.

The Word That Changed My Quarter

To abide is to remain, to continue, to dwell in a certain state, place, or condition. God asks something of us while we build: that we remain in Him, even as we’re building the thing He called us to build. Matthew [11:28] puts it plainly: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” It’s an instruction, not a suggestion — and for entrepreneurs especially, it’s the antidote to the overwhelm and burnout that come from trying to build a business entirely on our own strength.

What Abiding Actually Looked Like For Me

For me, abiding wasn’t a mindset shift I made while still running at full speed. It was a decision. I took the entire second quarter off and paused the daily activity of my business so I could actually hear from God about the next right step. That decision didn’t come out of nowhere. Going into the first quarter, I had a plan. I believed I knew exactly what God was calling me to do this season: launch a collaborative book and host a local retreat. I moved forward in faith, doing the work. But somewhere along the way, the effort started to feel like striving rather than abiding. I was working at something instead of walking with Him through it. And the results reflected that shift — despite genuinely feeling called to both projects, the fruit wasn’t there. That disconnect between calling and outcome was the signal I needed: it was time to stop and ask what God was really calling me to do in this season.

The Pause Wasn't a Quick Fix

I wish I could tell you that after three months of stepping back, I emerged with total clarity — a five-point plan and a launch date. That’s not what happened. I came out of the pause still unclear. The rest didn’t hand me a roadmap; it just made space. Clarity came later, and it came through community — I was invited to a quarterly planning workshop and strategy session, and it was in that room, surrounded by other people doing the work of discernment, that the plan and the next steps finally became clear. That’s a lesson in itself: sometimes abiding doesn’t produce answers in isolation. Sometimes it prepares you to recognize the answer when it shows up somewhere you didn’t expect — in this case, in a room built for exactly that kind of clarity.

What's Next

I’m genuinely excited about what’s ahead. The focus God gave me coming out of this season is working with women of faith in business — helping them build in a way that holds both excellence and rest, both strategy and surrender.

I’ll be sharing more about what this looks like in the coming weeks. If you want to be the first to hear the announcements — and get a free download as my thank-you for joining — sign up for my weekly newsletter at nadinemullings.com/power.

If any part of this resonated — if you’ve felt the difference between striving and abiding in your own business — I’d love to hear about it. Sometimes the pause is the most productive thing you’ll do all year.

Posted by Nadine Mullings  |  0 Comment  |  in Uncategorized

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