by Estela de Jesus
In 2005, having difficulty getting clients, my husband Boni and I decided to offer his financial consultancy services through Direct Mail.
I prepared a three-fold colored brochure, for which I spent 40,000 pesos, which was the last of my savings. To save on cost, I walked the Nagtahan Bridge in Manila to take a photo for the cover design.
Before we mailed out the letter, I remember praying over them quietly as a Bible verse came to mind: “The Lord will bless whatever you lay your hands to.” (Deuteronomy 28:12)
After months of waiting with not even a single call, we decided to follow up. Only one lady officer of a Makati-based conglomerate agreed to meet with us.
Unfortunately, the company did not need our services at that time. Sadly, all those efforts failed to produce even a single client.
Years passed, and Boni continued his consultancy business. As is the practice in the industry, fees are paid on a success basis. This means he only gets paid when the client receives the loan.
When a client refuses to get the loan, however, even if it has been approved, he does not get paid and all his work goes down the drain.
There were times when we had to dip into our savings to sustain our needs. Despite having no regular income, we survived those years with our three kids finishing college.
We went through many economic and political crises and we cannot say we “just” survived. There were times when we even saw the business thrive during those crises.
But there was a particular incident I cannot forget. I remember one instance when my husband did not get paid after working on a project for nine months.
The account was huge, so hoping that he will get paid at the end, we used up all our savings and incurred credit card debt just to sustain ourselves.
It turned out that the said client had a bad reputation in the business world and usually did not fulfill his obligations. He failed to fulfill the conditions for the release of the loan and Boni did not get paid.
Because of this, we got buried in more debt. All we could do was surrender everything to God and rely on Him as our Great Provider. (Psalms 37:7)
That was seven years after our direct mail campaign. We thought nothing happened and we had forgotten about it already.
Then one day, while having a meeting in a coffee shop, Boni bumped into the lady who once met with him in response to our direct mail campaign.
Yes! She was the lady company officer, the sole person who had responded to our direct mail. “What do you do now?” she asked. Boni answered, “Still the same!”
To which she responded: “Let’s meet and I will introduce you to someone who needs your services.”
The rest is history. Through a God-given client, whom she introduced, we were able to recover all the savings we have lost and more. Another client came, and another one. All those days of famine were temporary.
When we have God, days of famine and days of plenty are the same. We enjoy God’s abundance. (Psalm 37:19)
We realized why the former client did not get the loan and we did not get paid. God was protecting our name from being tarnished by his bad reputation.
All those years in the business suddenly made sense. In Jeremiah 29:13, the Lord says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
Truly, God reveals himself to those who seek Him.
We realized that no matter how long it takes, God answers our prayers at the right time. He delights in our work and surely, he will be the one who will abundantly reward us.
Men may take advantage of us or turn their back from their obligation to us, but when such things happen, the Lord knows and He will be the one to recompense us.
Is God concerned about our business?
He cares for our work more than we could ever imagine. (Proverbs 16:3 – Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established)
We may forget but He never will! None of our efforts and prayers will go to waste. (Proverbs 15:29 – The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous).
Harvest of seeds sown will come in due time. It may take longer than expected but it will surely come. (Galatians 6:9 – And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up).
Yes, it took seven years of waiting and we entirely forgot about it.
But God remembers everything.
He will reward us with an answer which goes beyond what we expect. He is faithful to keep his promises. (Psalm 145:13 – The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving towards all He has made).
To date, several more years have passed, and we are still reaping what we have sown. He continues to bless the work of our hands.
Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
ESTELA DE JESUS is the supportive wife of Boni de Jesus in this journey with God, as their faithful and great provider. They are blessed with three adult children and one grandson. Boni is an entrepreneur who provides financial consultancy to businesses. He is also a co-founder of Kapayaman Nation, a Facebook community of entrepreneurs whose goal is to help one another thrive.
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