Peaceful Productivity for Sincere Christians

3 Biblical Processes to Experience God’s Peace While Being Productive

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

As sincere Jesus followers, we want to know God better, grow in Christlikeness, and do the work, fulfill the purposes God has assigned to us.

We all want peace in our souls and Jesus said we could have it. “PEACE I leave with you; My PEACE I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” John 14:27–28

As a matter of fact, God’s peace is one of the foundational benefits of being a Christ follower. “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, PEACE, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17). “But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, joy, PEACE….” Galatians 5:22–23

Jesus says that it is His will, His plan, and His provision that we experience His divine peace. Not just when we get to heaven, but here in this world that is still so influenced by darkness and despair.

Jesus’ peace is stronger than the world’s fear!

But we don’t just want peace; after all, cemeteries and drugged people have a degree of peace. We want and are designed for peace that also empowers us to be productive in accomplishing the work, the mission, the purposes God has planned for us. (Ephesians 2:10)

We want and need the peace and productivity combination that Jesus demonstrated.

Once we know this really is God’s plan for us, the big question is how? How do we cooperate with God so that we accomplish all He has planned without living in the stress, fear, and confusion of our world?

The longer I live, the more I’m convinced that for any of us to live the life God desires for us is to get clear on a few essential principles and practices. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, because the Bible has close to 2,000 pages of God’s words and the key truths found there on any subject are woven throughout, not found in just one section.

And, even when we do a word study on any particular subject, those subjects, like “peace” are interrelated with other God given truths. In just the 3 Scriptures regarding peace just given we see that real peace comes out of:

1. Relationship with Jesus
2. Not letting our hearts be troubled (decisions on our part)
3. First being made righteous, “righteousness, peace, joy
4. By the Holy Spirit

Many, many foundational Scriptural truths don’t stand alone, they are supported by, empowered, and united with other truths. This can get a little tricky at times, but with a little thought and study, it becomes very, very doable.

One of the most important aspects of peaceful productivity is to make our foundational thoughts and actions as simple as possible.

Complexity is part of life, but to successfully navigate it, it is crucial to make our foundations as simple and clear as we possibly can.

So, as a starting point for this big and important topic let me suggest these simple steps:

1. INTENTIONAL

In my own journey and in working with thousands of other people I’ve seen that very few positive changes happen automatically; they happen intentionally.

It’s important that I take responsibility for my peace and my productivity. I can’t depend on someone else to give me that. Even though the Bible says that we can have the peace of God guarding both our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:6–7), the condition is that instead of shifting into worry mode, we pray with thanksgiving.

THEN, God says His peace will protect our souls. If we don’t pray WITH THANKSGIVING, instead of worrying, then God’s peace won’t be ours.

So, if fear, anxiety, and stress are increasing in your life, getting intentional about receiving peace is a needed first step.

2. IDENTIFY

As part of your intentional process, it is very helpful to then identify the most important purposes of God and what His word says about living them.

Our world is constantly trying to get us distracted, to get us to focus on things that are secondary at best and destructive at worst. Getting yet another shower gel or the latest iPhone will not give you the peace and joy you are looking for. But those advertisements sure make it look that way.

What does God say is most important in life? (Hint; it’s not having our world’s definition of success). What does His word say really matters? (If you want a free One-Page Purpose Guide head over to www.TruVineMission.com/FreeResources)

Write those things down. Read them and pray them until they become part of you, because you are being bombarded every day with messages trying to nudge you away from God’s priorities.

I can tell you from personal experience, that once you identify the key components of any endeavor, including following Jesus, you have won a major victory in your life.

Clarity gives confidence. Clarity gets rid of confusion and stress. Clarity from identifying the pillar principles and purposes moves you into more of God’s peace and productivity.

3. IMPLEMENT

Now, start doing what the Bible teaches regarding those purposes. You won’t be perfect. As a matter of fact, you won’t be anywhere near perfect, but you will be on the right track and God will help you step by step.

The best implementation “system” I know is:

1. Write down your goal. (Habakkuk 2:2 says to write the vision down).
2. Write down the steps you know to move towards that goal.
3. Write down the challenges and barriers you have experienced so far, blocking the goal.
4. Write down steps you can take to avoid those temptations or to get through them.
5. Pray over them, meditate on God’s words, solutions, and actions you will take.
6. Start taking action. Your action may be, “when I feel fear, instead of worrying, I will pray with thanksgiving.” Or, your action may be “I’m going to take 10 minutes each morning to review my priorities and keep them in mind so that after a few weeks, they guide my decision making.”
7. Each evening, take just a few minutes to review, reflect, and give thanks to God. “What did you learn today? What went well, what didn’t? How can you take today’s events and use them to move forward? Give thanks to God for those insights and for His love and grace to help you move forward.

It takes time to become peacefully productive, but even the smallest step in that direction can make a big difference in this fear dominated, stressed out world.

We really can experience the peace of God and the productivity of the Spirit as we get:

Intentional

Identify

Implement

If you want more spiritual growth and purpose living resources, head over to www.TruVineMission.com