Christian Business Concepts
Christian Business Concepts
Pivotal Moments: When One Decision Changes Everything
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Some decisions don’t look spiritual at all—until they quietly reroute your future. We’re unpacking the subtle but defining choices that act like hinges on a door, the small shifts that determine whether your leadership runs on alignment or just on adrenaline. If you’ve felt the tension between growth and godliness, or faced an “open door” that didn’t sit right in your spirit, this conversation gives language, stories, and tools to navigate it well.
We start by naming what’s at stake when pivotal moments go unnoticed: burnout that disguises itself as faithfulness, success that outpaces character, and a calling that thins into obligation. Then we map five clear signals you’re at a hinge point—emotional intensity, pressure to compromise, repetition of the same issue, a loss of peace, and misalignment between success and intimacy with God or family. Anchored in Scripture, we look at Joseph resisting private compromise and David refusing to shortcut God’s timing, reminding us that not every open door is God’s door and that clarity is forged before the crisis, not during it.
To ground this in modern leadership, we highlight Truett Cathy’s Sunday policy at Chick-fil-A and John Maxwell’s shift from authority to influence, showing how pivotal choices redefine how we lead more than where we lead. We close with a practical PIVOT framework: Pause to make room for discernment, Inspect your motives with the Holy Spirit, Verify with Scripture and wise counsel, Obey even when it costs, and Trust God with outcomes you can’t control. If you’re standing at a fork between obedience and convenience, this is your guide to choosing alignment without losing momentum.
If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help more leaders find these tools. What hinge moment are you facing right now?
Thanks again, Kelly, and welcome everyone to this week's Christian Business Podcast. I'm your host, Harold Milby, and I'm excited that you have decided to download and listen to this episode. And I pray that you will be encouraged, enlightened, and empowered by what you hear today. As a Christian business leader, you are in a very unique position. A position that enables you to touch the lives of others, and you should not take that responsibility lightly. You know, God needs people like you in the marketplace. We need Christian business leaders like never before. You know, the reason that we started CBC is to help Christian business leaders find what true godly success is by applying biblical principles to all areas of business and really in every area of their life. You know, the Bible is full of business principles alone. A lot, most of all the the parables in the New Testament are about business. And so it's very, very critical, very important for us to understand that. So I just I just wanted to share that with you. I want to also thank you for all of you who who have helped us to continue to grow Christian business concepts by sharing this podcast every week with four or five others and by posting a link uh to the podcast on your Facebook and in your LinkedIn and on your LinkedIn pages. Thank you so much for doing that. We appreciate all of you for helping us to grow uh the podcast every week. Now, before we get started, I I just want to give a big shout out to Perth Western Australia. That's Perth Western Australia for having so many downloads. Uh keep up the good work. You know, in 2025, Australia was the largest, uh had the largest amount of downloads of any country in the world. Uh I'm sorry, not country, but uh city. Uh Sydney, Australia was the largest city of anywhere in the world that as far as the number of downloads. The United States was the largest country. Australia was the second largest country. And I found out in at the end of uh 2025 that we have been heard now in over 80 countries. That's right, over 80 countries have listened to the Christian Business uh podcast, Christian Business Concepts Podcast. So I just want to thank you. I want to thank all of you in Australia and thank everyone around the world for making Christian Business Concepts a part of your uh, you know, your weekly growth plan for your life. So thank you so much. I appreciate it. So today's episode um is really about moments that that don't always look spiritual, but they carry a lot of spiritual weight. You know, moments that don't really announce themselves, but determine direction. These moments are not always dramatic. They're not always announced, as I said. Uh they're often recognized only in hindsight. But every leader can point to moments that quietly changed everything. A conversation maybe that you almost ignored, a failure that maybe forced some humility in your life, a decision that cost you some comfort, uh, but it clarified what your purpose was. Maybe a door that was closed, but it redirected you to where you needed to be, and that was in the obedience of God in your life. So we're talking today about pivotal moments, pivotal moments. Pivotal moment, a pivotal moment is not just a turning point. It's a moment, I think, of stewardship where God entrusts you with a choice that determines your trajectory. You know, the Bible says in Proverbs 16 and 10, it says, in their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. So these are pivotal moments, and many times a pivotal moment is is really uh about uh God uh orchestrating that pivotal moment. You know, one of the most popular podcasts we've ever done has been has been the one entitled God Uses Stepping Stones. And it's very similar. These pivotal moments are very uh similar to stepping stones. But there are moments in time that has been orchestrated by the Lord, and and there are moments in time that we don't always recognize. So let me let me start with just a little bit of a story, right? So there's a business leader that I knew, just very sharp, very disciplined, very respected, but he had hit a crossroads. The company was growing, revenue was increasing, but internally something was off. He was tired, he was short-tempered, he was disconnected, and then came the moment a major opportunity, big money, big money, but it required a compromise he once said he would never make. And and here's what made it dangerous. It didn't feel wrong. It didn't feel it it didn't feel unreasonable. It actually it felt reasonable, but it didn't feel wrong. And that moment right there, that that moment was a pivotal moment. And because pivotal moments are rarely obvious, they show up disguised as just a normal leadership decision. So really, what is a pivotal moment? It it's a season, it's it's a decision, a disruption, or an insight where alignment with God's purpose for your life is either strengthened or it's compromised. One of the two. You know, they they act like pressure points, revealing what truly governs your leadership. You know, what what are you really all about? It also acts like forks in the road where obedience and convenience rarely point in the same direction. You know, in leadership, most people obsess over speed. You know, it's all about growth, revenue, momentum, speed, go, go, go. But but direction it of a of a ship, we'll say, uh is really directed by the rudder. It's set by the rudder, not the sail. A small adjustment, a small rudder adjustment, when you make it early, it prevents massive course correction later. So pivotal moments are like rudder moments on a ship. If you miss them, you may still be moving really fast, but you're just going in the wrong direction. So, you know, what about this concept, that the concept of pivotal moments? Well, let's talk a little bit about the cost of missing pivotal moments. When pivotal moments go unrecognized, what can what can come from that is burnout. And and burnout a lot of time acts like faithfulness. It masquerades, if I can say it that way, as faithfulness when it's not. But when you miss pivotal moments, sometimes you have burnout. Sometimes uh success outpaces your character. Now, what do I mean by that? Well, there are times we become so successful so fast that we forget who we really are. And what happens is we start making decisions that are outside our character, that good character in our lives. So sometimes success outpaces our character. Um sometimes businesses grow while leaders are beginning to shrink spiritually. Uh you know, these these are times, these pivotal moments, they go unrecognized. It's it's it's a like the calling that you know you have or that you once knew you had gets replaced by an obligation. You know, Samson didn't really lose his strength in a day. You know, he lost it over a period of bad decisions. You know, Solomon didn't lose wisdom overnight. It was over a period of time. Both of these people in the Bible missed multiple pivotal moments where compromise felt really small, but that at the end they proved very fatal. You know, the Song of Songs in chapter 2, verse 15 says that catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards. It's those little pivotal moments, if we miss them, can really cause havoc in our businesses and in our lives. A pivotal moment is a moment where alignment is tested. You know, think of it like a like a hinge on a door, like a hinge on a door. The hinge is small, but it determines where the door opens. Pivotal moments are hinge moments. You know, Proverbs 423 says, above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. Direction doesn't just change all at once, it shifts quietly, decision by decision. So, what are some of the top ways that you can identify pivotal moments? This is so critical to understand because if you miss a pivotal moment and you make a wrong decision during a pivotal moment, it can be detrimental and it can take you years to get back to where you were. So it's important that we identify uh pivotal moments. How what are the ways to identify pivotal moments? So let me give you five indicators. Let me give you five indicators that you may be standing right now in a pivotal moment. So one of them is emotional intensity. When a decision carries unusual emotional weight, you need to pay attention to it. Because God often stirs conviction within us before he provides clarity. We need to pay attention to that. And so a lot of that comes from this emotional intensity that's really kind of unusual for maybe what the decision is. So pay attention to that. Number two is pressure to compromise. If the option in front of you requires you to explain away your values, then you're likely in a pivotal moment. Very much so. So pressure to compromise. Number three, repetition. When the same issue, the same opportunity, the same tension keeps resurfacing, God may be waiting for obedience, not for more information. He may be waiting for you to obey something that you have tried to walk away from. So you keep circling the barn, as I like to say. You keep going around the same bush over and over and over again. So repetition can be a sign that you're at a pivotal moment. Number four, loss of peace. You know, uh it's it's different than not having fear. We're talking a lack of godly peace. And you know what that's like. I don't have to tell you, if you're born again, you know what it is when you don't have peace about something. And Colossians 3.15 says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. You know, peace often functions as I would like to say, like a spiritual referee. If I can say it that way. It's like a spiritual referee. And so it's very, very important to pay attention to. And then lastly, alignment tension. Alignment tension. When success begins to cost you intimacy with God or with your family or your integrity, that tension is not accidental. That tension is there because you're out of alignment. And so it's very important. So you can look at those five things. Again, alignment, tension, loss of peace, repetition, pressure to compromise, and emotional intensity. Those are all ways you can determine uh if you're at a pivotal moment. You know, if you if if you look at Joseph's life, Joseph in the Old Testament had a pivotal moment. Uh, he had a pivotal, pivotal moment when he could have given in. He was the ruler of this household, and this woman wanted him, and he was at a pivotal moment. This was the owner's wife. And he thought, well, I could be set for life. If I take care of her, then she'll help me take care of her husband, and I'm always going to be set. But Joseph understood something that many leaders miss. Who you are in private determines what God can trust you with in public. Let me say that again. Who you are in private determines what God can trust you with in public. Joseph's decision wasn't reactive, it was rooted. He he had already decided who he was before the moment ever arrived. That's how you recognize pivotal moments. You don't create clarity in them, you reveal clarity. So he was very clear about who he was, very clear about the things that he knew he needed to do. And Potiphar's, his boss, Potiphar, his wife, Potiphar's wife, was a temptation that came to him that he was already prepared for because he knew what he was supposed to be doing. So that's really critical. I look at David, I look at David's life. You know, David had opportunity, he had justification, and he had support to kill Saul. But he recognized that God's timing matters as much as God's promise. And that's something that can take place in a pivotal moment, too. That's why it's so important that we give care, a lot of care, to when we have these pivotal moments, or maybe we don't even recognize we're in one. But it's so important. And he recognized, David recognized that God's timing matters more. And so he had two opportunities to kill Saul, could have killed him very easily, and he didn't take it. He didn't take it. See, not every open door is God's door. So a lot of people live their life that way. Well, if it's an open door, I'll walk through it because God must have opened the door. That's not always true. Not every open door is God's door. Some are tests, tests of your restraint. Are you going to restrain yourself, you know, from going through that door? So that's what that's what that lesson could be about. So again, not every open door is God's door. Sometimes they're just a test. So what about looking at some modern leaders? You know, we talk about David, we talk about Solomon, you know, what about some modern leaders? Well, consider this, you know, Truett Cathy, who founded uh uh Chick fil A, you know, closing on Sundays wasn't just a policy, it was a total pivotal alignment decision. That decision, it filtered employees, it clarified their culture, it protected their priorities, and it built trust. Because Truett Cathy understood that alignment produces authority. When leaders are aligned, they don't have to defend their decisions, they embody those decisions. You know, my uh mentor uh and my coach for for a long time, he was my my personal coach, was John Maxwell, uh the most renowned uh teacher on leadership in the world. And Maxwell, John Maxwell's pivotal leadership shift came when he defined leadership as influence, not authority. You know, it kind of reframed everything. It reframed how he developed people, it reframed how he measured success, it reframed how he stewarded platforms. I mean, it reframed everything. Because pivotal moments often redefined how you lead. It redefines how you lead, not where you lead. But pivotal moments were redefined many times how you lead. So how does God use these pivotal moments? Well, let's look. There's three common categories of pivotal moments. One number one is disruption moments, uh, failure, loss, conflict, exhaustion. You know, sometimes God interrupts momentum to restore alignment. So you can have these disruption moments. Number two, decision moments. Uh again, these can come from ethical tension or growth versus faithfulness or speed versus sustainability. Uh these are decision moments. And then number three is innovation moments. In other words, they they can act as a nudge. It might be an idea or a burden. Um, maybe it's not real urgent, but it's persistent. You know, in Hebrews 3.15, it says, today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. So these are invitation moments. Those are the three common categories disrupt disruption moments, decision moments, and invitation moments. Uh Hebrews 3.15 says, Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. So it's very critical. Now, how do you align yourself with pivotal moments? Well, let's use the word pivot. Let's use the word pivot and let's talk about how to align yourself to not just recognize a pivotal moment, but to align yourself with it. So the the the word pivot, the P stands for pause. Pivotal moments demand stillness. God speaks most clearly when there's an urgency to be quiet. So you need to stop seeking speed and start seeking discernment. That will be incredible for you if you can make that shift. The I is inspect, ask a lot more, better, deeper questions. Uh in other words, something like what is this moment shaping in me? Or what am I being invited to release or embrace? So as a as a step in this alignment process, maybe you need to invite the Holy Spirit to reveal your motives, maybe reveal some other people's motives, but not just options. But maybe the Holy Spirit needs to re, you know, re-look at that purpose and and and look at uh and and look at that. So that's that's the one thing that you have to that you have to look at. And then the I is ask uh deeper questions as I said and then the next is V for verify. Bring the decision. Bring the decision that you've got to make bring it under scripture. Bring it under prayer and counsel. You know the Bible says in Proverbs 20 and 18, it says plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed. So don't isolate yourself especially when you're in pivotal moments. Very, very critical. And then the O in pivot is obey. Obedience often feels like it's going to be really expensive. It's going to cost you something. But delayed obedience it erodes that confidence and clarity. Trust me, it's a lot worse if you don't obey you need to go ahead and obey. And that's important. And then the the last letter in the word pivot is T and that stands for trust. Trust that obedience positions you even when results are lagging. You know so you got to let go of that control that you think you have. So let's look at some reflection questions as we move on. So let me leave you with this question. What pivotal moment is God placing in front of you right now? What would alignment look like realize that God rarely shouts. He often interrupts very quietly pivotal moments are not about perfection they're about alignment. Don't forget that. So if you steward these pivotal moments well you know you're going to have a business that matures you're going to have leadership that grows deep you're going to you're going to be able to multiply your influence faith integrates fully that's not compartmentalized. Faith will begin to integrate fully you know Psalms 3723 says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. So that's uh really uh incredible critical for you as you're looking at these pivotal moments I you know I just I I just think that pivotal moments are so they they just pop up sometimes out of nowhere. You really never know when there's going to be a pivotal moment for you that's going to help you. You just really don't ever know. And so you have to be looking for them you have to be looking for them. It's so important. You know uh Psalms 3723 says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. We've talked about that before it's so important that God orders our footsteps. So if you steward all these things that we're talking about if you steward it I believe that your business uh will mature. I do believe that I believe you'll have greater leaders and as I said before I believe you're going to influence more people and I just think that that these are critical in these days and times for you to recognize pivotal moments. Father thank you for caring about our leadership and our hearts Lord give us eyes to recognize pivotal moments Lord and give us the courage to respond with obedience Lord align our decisions with your purposes Lord with your purposes and help us trust you with the outcomes that we cannot control. And Lord I thank you for that I praise you for it in Jesus holy name amen and amen. Well again thank you this week for listening to uh this week's uh Christian business concepts podcast we just really appreciate it please help us to grow the CBC by reaching out to others letting them know about this podcast and then copying the the URL to the podcast and putting it in emails sharing it with people put it put it in the uh uh you can you can put links uh into your social media pages just anything you can do to help us grow you know CBC we don't take any money we're not looking for money uh that's not what this is about I do have a business where I coach I train as an executive leader but um that that's not what CBC is about CBC is about helping business leaders and that's what I want you to continue to keep in your mind to continue to help us grow the CBC family. Well it looks like that's all the time we have for this week I'm so glad that you tuned in and that you downloaded this podcast once again but until next time remember Jesus is Lord and he wants you blessed thank you for tuning in to this week's Christian business comments go to Christian business coming for more information