Productivity from a rested place
Productivity is one of my favorite words. I LOVE checking things off of a list, and feeling accomplished by what I see is getting done.
We see in Scripture that the Lord created us to work with our hands and be productive, which is reflective of His nature since He himself created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), and everything else that proceeded. For instance, in Genesis 2:15 the Lord charges Adam to work and keep the garden. Also Proverbs 31:13-14 describes a woman who is productive in her home but also is involved in business type affairs in the marketplace. These are only a couple of numerous other places in Scripture.
Out of a heart of transparency, idolizing productivity caused a lot of stress for myself and negatively affected my relationship with the Lord and others. Though the Lord’s love for me is unchanging, this idolization led me to live in a chronic state of an overpacked schedule and to do lists because I was motivated by self-sufficiency and pride. I was not leaving room for simply being still and delighting in God’s Word out of love for Him. What does your current relationship with productivity look like? Can you empathize completely, or can you empathize partially, because your motivation is different?
Over the past year in particular, I have been meditating on the book of Psalms. When I happened to read Psalm 127, verses 1 and 2 especially struck me afresh. It truly captures this “productivity from a rested place” that Art of Hope is so passionate to see in the lives of others. In these verses, productivity or work is described in the analogy of how someone builds a house and watches over a city. More importantly, these verses point toward the importance in establishing who is in charge of building the house and watching over the city, and that is the Lord. If one does not recognize and live in light of this truth, they are prone to “anxious toil” (verse 2). Those that place their trust in the Lord with everything, including their productivity and work, live out of a rested place, for “he gives his beloved sleep” (verse 2).
As you engage in productivity, I pray you will first recall and meditate on the fact that your toil is in vain and cannot be sustained if you live out of self sufficiency instead of a deep seeded trust in the Lord, who is over it all.
Art of Hope is here to help if you are seeking clarity in how to be more strategic with your productivity, or if you do not know where to start.