Can you be productive spiritually?
August 4-10, 2024 | Always Peachy Devotionals | Productivity Week 1
How many ways do you know to be productive?
It’s a major hot button issue in our culture these days. Time management. Stress management. Productivity training. Quality control and efficiency models.
Everybody wants to do more with less. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. Some of it is stewardship, and we want to be good stewards of what God has given us.
But is stewardship the same as productivity? Is it possible that maybe we've misunderstood what true productivity actually is? That’s what we are going to talk about this month: Productivity.
What is it? What is it not? How do we achieve it? How can we not be ruled by it?
This is a huge issue in my life as I constantly overcommit myself. I am driven to agree to do more than I can actually accomplish in a reasonable span of time, and I'm not really sure why. (I have theories, of course.)
What about you? Do you feel like a failure if your best isn't good enough? Do you struggle with self-worth because you can't find the end of your to-do list? Â Are you constantly apologizing for things you forgot or neglected because you were too overwhelmed with everything else? Do you refuse to rest because you just can't prioritize it?
Friend, you are in good company.
I’m excited to see what God’s Word has for us on this topic. He made us, after all, so He knows best how to help us thrive.
From what I can tell, I can identify four elements to understanding productivity:
Spiritual Productivity,
Practical Productivity,
Defining Productivity,
and Sustainable Productivity.
So that’s how we are going to divide up the next four weeks, starting with Spiritual Productivity.
Monday – The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
Tuesday – Building Materials of Life (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)
Wednesday – Tests of Faith (James 1:3-4)
Thursday – Authentic Faith (1 Peter 1:6-7)
Friday – Faith That Produces Life (Luke 21:19)
I can’t wait to hear what Jesus wants to tell us about this topic. I’ve found so many verses about this, but the one that hit me the hardest is the verse I’ve pulled for us to memorize this week, John 15:5.
I love John 15, the whole chapter. It’s revolutionary in the best way possible. And it’s such a powerful reminder of where the source of our strength should be: Jesus Himself.
It's easy to think that we need to be independent and resourceful, especially as Americans. And that's true. That's part of living the life God gave us, as we studied all through the month of July. But God didn't give us freedom so we would live independent from Him. He set us free to walk alongside Him.
We have our freedom so that we can choose to walk with Him. Sure we can choose to go it alone if we want. That’s our choice. But when we do life in our own strength, we separate ourselves from the source of true life. And there is no way to be truly productive apart from God and His power.
Let that truth settle into your mind this week as we talk about how to be productive people.
Hugs and prayers for all of you!
Amy
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