Why Isn’t God Blessing Your Business?

Rashida Nelson
1 day ago
4 min read

A Biblical Look at Striving vs Trust

Psalm 127, Anxious Striving, and Building a Business With God

We are clearly living in a get-to-the-bag era.

Everyone wants success.

Legacy.

Financial freedom.

Creative freedom.

Many of our parents and grandparents were content with surviving. But this generation? We’re done surviving. We want to build, scale, and leave something behind.

And none of that is wrong.

But somewhere along the way, diligence quietly turns into striving… and striving turns into anxiety.

This isn’t a question of God’s faithfulness but of how we define blessing, timing, and trust.

So where is the line between working faithfully and working fearfully? How do we know when our effort has crossed into anxious, self-powered labor?

Psalm 127 answers that question with uncomfortable clarity.

“Unless the Lord Builds the House…”

“Unless the LORD builds the house,They labor in vain who build it;Unless the LORD guards the city,The watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

I love how this psalm opens. It doesn’t ease us in, it reorients us immediately.

It doesn’t matter how smart you are.

How gifted.

How strategic.

How disciplined.

If God isn’t the builder, the work is still in vain.

That word vain doesn’t mean “lazy” or “worthless.” It means empty, futile, exhausting without lasting fruit.

This verse humbles us. It reminds us how dependent we actually are on the Author of all things, to work, protect, fight, and orchestrate outcomes on our behalf.

It shifts control from us back to Him.

When Work Turns Into Striving

“It is vain for you to rise early, to retire late, to eat the bread of anxious labors. For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.” (Psalm 127:2)

The issue here isn’t early mornings or late nights.

The issue is anxious labor.

That kind of work sounds like:

If I don’t push nonstop, this won’t happen.
If I slow down, I’ll miss my moment.
If I rest, I’m being irresponsible.

This verse isn’t anti-work. It’s anti-self-reliance dressed up as faithfulness.

God isn’t impressed by exhaustion. He’s not waiting for you to collapse before He moves.

The contrast is powerful: You strive anxiously VS God gives while you sleep.

Sleep becomes an act of trust. When you rest, you’re saying, “God, You’re still working even when I’m not.”

My Breaking Point With Striving

When I started my business, Fairytale Frith Events, it wasn’t just a good idea, I knew it came from God. I received an internal word from Him, followed by confirmation through external prophecy. I was certain this was something He was inviting me into.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the process.

I thought it would be swift, my definition of swift.

I knew I had to work, and I was willing to. But before I realized it, work had turned into striving. I was working all day and all night, driven by fear that it wasn’t happening fast enough.

I planned obsessively.

I strategized relentlessly.

And somehow, I still had no peace.

Nothing was “wrong” on the outside, but internally, I was restless.

One day, I broke down and poured it all out to my husband. And through that conversation, God gently exposed what He had been showing me all along.

It wasn’t that He wouldn’t fulfill His promise. It was that the process was intentional.

He wasn’t just building a business, He was working something out in me.

My tendency to strive.

My need to control timing.

My discomfort with trust.

He was teaching me flexibility to His direction, not attachment to my own strategy.

Dependence, Not Passivity

Psalm 127 doesn’t cancel effort, it corrects self-powered effort.

Scripture consistently affirms:

Diligence
Wisdom
Planning
Stewardship

But it draws a hard line at anxiety-driven labor.

What this means:

Your success doesn’t come from grinding yourself into the ground
You don’t have to live in anxiety to be fruitful
God can multiply what you do beyond your hours, energy, or strategies

What this doesn’t mean:

Discipline doesn’t matter
Responsibility is optional
Rest equals neglect

A healthier posture sounds like this: “I work faithfully, but I trust God completely. I don’t strive as if everything depends on me.”

Ironically, that posture frees you to work better, not harder, because you’re no longer carrying God’s job on your shoulders.

God Works the Night Shift

“He gives to His beloved even in sleep.”

That’s not just poetic, it’s practical.

Rest releases us from obsession. It interrupts hustle culture. It makes space for joy, creativity, and presence.

What a kind God, to invite us into a multifaceted life, not one ruled by nonstop labor.

We steward our part.

We show up faithfully.

And then we rest.

Because belief in God’s sovereignty isn’t passive, it’s submissive.

An Invitation to Reflect

If you’re a Christian creative or business owner, Psalm 127 invites some honest questions:

Where has planning replaced prayer?
Where have you overestimated your control?
What fears surface when you stop striving?
What does co-laboring with God actually look like for you?

Ask yourself:

Where have I been over-functioning?

Because nothing that truly lasts is produced by anxious self-effort.

What does last… comes from the Lord.