EquipHer Vol. 34: The “Boss Businesswoman” of the BibleSample

The Evolution of Success

To consecrate our ambitions means to stop chasing goals that speak about us and to start pursuing purposes that speak of God through us.

It means living by renewing these intentions every single day: “Lord, everything I am, everything I have built, everything I dream of—it is Yours. Use it for something greater than my own life.”

Lydia, one of the most reputable businesswomen in the Bible, is a clear example of how we are not called to abandon our profession, but direct it toward a purpose higher than profit. Lydia did not silence her entrepreneurial spirit; she placed it at the service of God’s plans. Through her business, her organizational skill, her influence, and her resources, Lydia became a vessel for spreading the Gospel across a continent where the message of salvation had not yet been preached.

Similar to Lydia’s story, we are also called to dedicate what we have to God’s plan—a project infinitely greater than anything we could design for ourselves. Through the prophet Isaiah, God reminds us: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9, NIV)

When we choose to align our ambitions with these “higher ways,” every skill, every idea, and every result of our work becomes part of His eternal purpose.

Aligning our ambitions with His “higher ways,” means we achieve the highest level of success: becoming vessels to serve His Kingdom.

God created us with the capacity and passion to build, innovate, and dream big,
but He calls us to do it with an eternal purpose. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23–24, NIV)

Lydia began as a woman who sold purple cloth, but she became a woman who served the Lord. Her profession did not change—her motivation did.

Perhaps you are in a season where God is asking you to surrender your ambitions to Him. When you do, your projects become channels through which God moves, your ideas become tools in His hands, and your work becomes something that carries eternal impact.

Success is not what makes you more visible, but what makes Him more visible through you.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for the dreams, the talents, and the vision You have placed within me. I entrust my ambitions to You—realign them with Your purpose, purify them from the need for approval, and fill them with eternal meaning. Teach me to work with passion and build with excellence, not merely for my own ambitions but for the advancement of Your Kingdom through the work You desire to accomplish through me. Amen.