Grace for the Entrepreneur Who Got It Wrong
You’re a Lagos big boy. Influential, well loved, and known. You’ve built a life people admire, surrounded by a strong network across family, friends and powerful connections in your professional circle. In fact you have the kind many aspire to.
And now, the most important day of your life is here – your wedding day. The the whole community, offline and online are watching. It’s been a much-anticipated wedding that’s been on everybody’s lips, especially on social media. The wedding vendors have been taking everyone behind the scenes of the preparation, you and your bride have been sharing your journey, promising your guests a lot of fun, food and drinks. Your fans have pitched tents on your instagram page not wanted to miss anymoment of the day. And trust the blogs, they have set ringlight and camera, waiting to capture every moment, good and bad.
Just as planned,.the venue layout is impeccable, the music is on point, the food is looking sumptous, drinks are flowing in, you know, your guests are having the time of their lives, and the engagement online is at an all-time high.
Then the unexpected happens, right at the start of your after-party, your best man leans in and whispers, ‘Guy… drinks don finish o.’
Your heart skips a beat… “Ah! I don cast!” You see, as a Nigerian host, two things must never finish at your party – meat and drinks. I mean, what is Nigerian jollof without deep-fried beef? Or a bowl of amala, ewedu, and gbegiri without chilled malt? It just doesn’t make sense. So you see, we do everything possible to make sure those two things last till the very end. For them to finish midway? That’s one of the most embarrassing things that can happen to you as a host. It doesn’t matter if the hall is beautifully decorated or the music is banging, once meat or drinks are unavailable, it’s a deal breaker for Nigerian guests.
Something similar happened at the wedding at Cana, the wine ran out. And in that culture just like mine, that wasn’t a small oversight; it was a public failure. A moment of shame for the groom, and a clear sign that he had not prepared enough or honoured his guests as he should have. If the guests had become disgruntled and left at that point, they would have been justified… yes it’s that deep! It would have been a complete breakdown of the celebration. Whispers, side glances, quiet exits… and CNN (Cana Network News) would not allow them hear the last of it; it’s a story that would follow the groom long after the wedding was over.
And yet, Jesus Christ stepped in. Not because everything had been done right,not minding that the host did not prepare well enough for his guests, he stepped in because mercy chose to override consequence. And He didn’t just fix the problem quietly, He removed the shame and turned what should have ended in embarrassment into amazement.
If we’re honest, many of our business crises are not random. It’s either we under-planned, we took uncalculated risks, we acted on impulse instead of thinking things through, or we were simply delusional. And then one day… the wine runs out. The business that was doing well begins to lose traction. Deals fall through, clients reject the product, cash flow dries up, investors pull out. The company begins to face the reality of shutting down. And deep in your heart, you know you played a part in it, you know the flop are receipts for your miscalculations.
No entrepreneur ever wants to get to that point where they are left with no choice but to shut down the business, or worse, lose ownership to an investor. And sometimes, it’s not only the founder who suffers, other stakeholders do as well. I remember when we lost millions of naira after investors took over a pharmaceutical company in Nigeria where my brand, Hegai & Esther, was stocked across several of their outlets. It wasn’t a pleasant experience for us vendors at all. Dissolution comes with a kind of shame that makes you look like you are an ignoranus. Suddenly, everyone becomes a business expert::
“Oh, they should have known better.”
“They shouldn’t have taken that loan.”
“They shouldn’t have opened that physical store.”
And in many ways, you probably agree with some of those opinions. Maybe the business wasn’t ready to carry the cost of expansion. Maybe you should have asked a lawyer to properly review that contract before signing. A part of you feels like maybe you deserve whatever comes next.
But this is where mercy enters the conversation.
At Cana, Jesus did not ask, “Why didn’t you prepare?” or “Why didn’t you plan for contingencies?” He simply stepped in.
“Fill the waterpots with water,” John 2:7
It doesn’t matter if your business is in trouble today because of your own mistakes, He can still step in, He can still save the day. And when He does, He doesn’t just bring you back to “just enough, He gives better. He turns the leftovers droplets into the best wine.
Dear founder, if your “wine has run out,” please know this, you are not beyond the reach of mercy. Jesus is not present in your business for “vibes and insha allahu”, He is there as an active stakeholder, there to lead, to rejoice with you when you win, and to guide you into the right decisions after you’ve made the wrong ones. All you have to do is call on Him, admit guilt, learn from your errors, and ask for mercy, and He will begin to guide your heart, your decisions, and your next steps towards restoration.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:6–7
Because the same Jesus who saved a wedding from shame is still alive today, stepping into businesses, redeeming bad decisions, and He is present to turn what should have been your lowest moment into something far better than what you lost.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalms 46:1
