Productivity and Solitude
How would solitude increase your productivity?
Verse of the Day
“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.”
Today’s Devotional
Do you ever feel like you’re spinning your wheels and accomplishing nothing? Do you ever wonder how in the world everything will get done? Looking at today’s verse, we see that it is possible for our work to be wasted. And that’s a terrible feeling.
I read a devotional from whoisgrace.com that I’d like to share with you today.
How productive are you, really?
Imagine this…
A laborer digs a trench eight feet deep by hand. He’s so proud of himself. He’s never worked harder, and he dug that hole in record time! Just as he tosses his last scoop of dirt the foreman looks into the hole. With a scowl on his face the foreman says, “Why did you dig here and why is the hole so deep? You need to fill this hole in and dig again in the right place!” He continues, “If you had taken the time to talk to me and read the blueprints, you would have saved so much time and energy, and your efforts would have counted for something!”
That illustration makes one’s heart sink just thinking about it! What an awful feeling it would be to discover that all your busyness was just that, busyness! Solitude is taking time to communicate with the ultimate Foreman, and to internalize His blueprints. Solitude is listening and being filled before action. Solitude ensures that, when we do move, we are putting our energy into the right things, and with the right spirit. Solitude ensures that our expended energy is actually productive and actually counts toward what is valuable in God’s eyes.
I don’t get excited about the thought of digging trenches, but the thought of digging a useless trench sounds awful. But how often do I go about my day doing the equivalent of useless work? Earlier this year, I started praying over my calendar and schedule. I started inviting the Holy Spirit more deliberately to direct my time, energy, and productivity. I have not mastered this. But when I seek the Father before I start my to-do list, it’s amazing how much less pressure I feel. The detours of the day, which usually involve phone calls from people, I can now see as holy invitations to love on one of God’s kids instead of an interruption to MY day. I want to learn to build HIS house instead of my own. To do that, I need to make the space in my life for Him to tell me His plans.
As I have been practicing solitude and silence, I have noticed that I am more productive and more peaceful about what does and does not get done. There are days when I notice my internal stress is running really high, and if I will go spend a few minutes in silence and solitude with God, it resets me. Especially when I am resisting, or I simply don’t want to, or I don’t feel like I have time. And I assure you, I still feel like I am really not good at this practice. But God is faithful. He sees our efforts to draw near to Him. James 4:8 says, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” Sitting in silence and solitude with God seems like a beautiful way to practice coming close to God. And I think this practice is a lovely reminder that God’s love for us does not hinge on our productivity. God loves us because HE IS GOOD, not because we are good or because we do anything good. And I need that reminder. Do you?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
When have you changed direction because you discovered, by time with God, that your busyness was not according to his blueprint?
How are you ensuring that your busyness is actually fruitful?
How are you ensuring that your definition of fruitful is God’s definition of fruitful?
Ask God to help you to be fruitful and to teach you what it is to abide in Him day by day…
Make a list of tasks that you plan to do this week or take a look at your calendar of meetings/classes/events. How many of them have you prayed about? Take time to pray, even for the small things that seem to not need prayer.
Write a prayer asking God to show you how to practice being silent with Him.