Are you a get things done kind of gal who wants God’s vision for productivity to drive your day—not the world’s? (Me too!).

Then do you know what our number one priority must be?

FAITHFULNESS

Culture will try to convince us that productivity is about doing and achieving more.

But God says true productivity is about loving Him, loving others, and doing what He says matters (Matthew 22:36-40, Micah 6:8; Ephesians 2:10, 1 Corinthians 13:1-7).

So let’s follow God. Here are four steps we should take to be productive God’s way.

STEP #1: BUILD SPIRITUAL HABITS

If we want to give God our full devotion, we need a deep relationship with Him. We grow this through spiritual habits—the repeated actions we take to connect our hearts and minds to God.

Spiritual habits are powerful because they “allow us to place ourselves before God so that He can transform us.” (from Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster)

Do spiritual habits sound complicated? Don’t worry. Many are simple things you already do. But we’ve created this resource to help women like us dig deeper. I also recommend these books:

• The Spiritual Disciplines Handbook
• Celebration of Disciplines

Spiritual habits are the foundation of everything at We Abide Together, so expect help with spiritual habit building in every one of our productivity tools.

STEP #2: IDENTIFY WHAT HINDERS YOUR FAITHFULNESS

We want to follow God, but as Jesus warned His disciples, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

Sometimes obvious sin hinders our devotion to God. But often, it’s thorns.

In Luke 8:14, Jesus says thorns are “the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things (that) enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

If things like work stress, kid worries, financial desires, or physical appearance concerns ever consume your thoughts, then you’ve experienced thorns first hand.

How do we throw off thorns and other sin that entangles us (Hebrews 12:x)?

More Jesus through, you guessed it…more spiritual habits.

We make time for silence and solitude with God. We become vulnerable in fellowship with trusted Christian friends. Then, we let these experiences reveal our blind spots and who we really are.

As these practices unearth hindrances, we confess to God. We ask Him for the power and desire to change.  And we do our part by changing habits, environments, and relationships so they better support our faithfulness.

It takes time and intention to do what I just described in the last two paragraphs. But, if we commit ourselves to these, they will become instrumental in our journey to become more like Christ.

#3: PURPOSEFULLY PURSUE GOD’S PRIORITIES

As God grows and refines you, you’ll gain clarity about specific things He wants you to do.

This is the part that we productivity-minded women love…taking action.

But hold up. We want God’s plan. So, the first step is asking this: God, what specific goals should I pursue? The goals God has planned for you will fit into one of two categories:

• Achievements: These are specific projects or tasks God wants you to accomplish to bring Him glory, love others, or complete work important to Him. Achievement goals have finish lines.
• Lifestyles: These are the things God wants you to become. They may not have a finish line or end point. Instead they are ways of being that allow you to love and be fruitful.

Once you’ve identified your goals, it’s time to create plans.

A plan includes the steps you’ll take or habits you’ll build to bring the goal to life. Good should also include details about when you’ll take action. For example:

• The day and time you’ll complete specific tasks.
• The time or event that will trigger you to practice a specific habit.

But before I make it sound like all of this depends on us…let’s look at step 4.

#4: SEEK GOD AS WE ACT

We cannot faithfully follow God in our own power (John 15:5-6).

We need God to give us the desire, power, and will to follow Him faithfully (Philippians 2:12-13, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

And this is where everything comes full circle. We seek God by continuing to:

• cultivate spiritual habits that transform us.
• identify hindrances that distract us.
• make and follow plans as God leads us.

When we live this pattern, we can do what truly matters and strip away responsibilities, activities, and burdens we’re not meant to carry.

ARE YOU READY TO DIG IN?

I created We Abide Together to help Christian women who love being productivity (like me) keep their

If this post speaks to you, I’d love to connect you with resources that help you live out what God’s calling you to do.

If you’re new around here, get our Spiritual Habits Starter Guide below:

If you’re ready to go deeper, it may be time to start using the Abide & Focus Weekly Planner. This tool will help you set goals with God, then break those goals into steps and habits you schedule to live faithfully each day.

I’m so glad you found We Abide Together. May God bless you as you seek His definition of productivity.