Divine Efficiency - Part 4 of 4 (approach)

Divine Efficiency just may be the tool you’ve been looking for to maximize your productivity while living for God’s kingdom.  To seek it well, it’s imperative to routinely examine both our motivations and our expectations  He does not give us more than we can bear and He wants to bless us, even if it’s not the way we wanted or expected.  Pursuing divine efficiency is an act of faith and a commitment to a mode of operation more than a quick fix of an overflowing To Do list.   As such, it’s best approached with a support team and absolutely requires a big-picture perspective.

Community is key

My little bro got me in the habit of using the catchy phrase “Teamwork makes the dream work.”  This is Biblical!  The fact the God already offered to be with us everywhere all the time is amazing in itself.  But he offers even more of Himself when we take on life with a team – including those going before us, at our sides, and behind us.  Share the concept of divine efficiency with others around you and ask that they help spur you on, pray for you, and support you.Don’t stop at leveraging community, though.  Be the type of community that others want and need as well – and do it in each of your spheres of influence!  Decompartmentalize your life so that you are the same divine-efficiency seeking person no matter where you are or who you are with.  Everything on our To Do list (regardless of where/when you do them) is to be done to God’s glory.  Seeking Kingdomtivity and divine efficiency just when you are serving with church, just when you are working your 9-5, or just when you’re in any one particular setting is a sure way to miss out on God’s best for you.  In fact, being the same divine-efficiency-seeking person all the time requires less energy than balancing different priorities in your various spheres of influence.During one overnight family trip to LegoLand I found myself awakened early in the morning by screaming kids in the hotel room next door.  I’d been navigating a tricky season at work and also experiencing some new health issues, and I started letting the fact that I wasn’t asleep – in a season when I felt I needed it to be able to operate with divine efficiency on all fronts – lead to frustration and worry.  Yet God reminded me how many others had been praying for me in this season.  I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the coverage from community and for a God that cares.  This freed me from seeking divine efficiency from the wrong motivation or with the wrong expectations and instead re-centered my focus on glorifying God.  After all, if ever we are seeking the gift/tool more than the Gift-Giver, we’re surely in trouble.

Perspective

God’s beautiful creation, my commute to work, and my limited ability to communicate in other countries often remind me that I am not the center of the world.  There are so many other people – all with their own complex stories, all loved by God, and all keeping on as best they can.Divine efficiency won’t necessarily look the same for you as it will for another.  God wants us to be as efficient as possible serving His kingdom, but we must let Him define the specifics of divine efficiency for each of us.  Consider multiple ways to solve problems and address your To Do lists.  Keep praying, keep prioritizing, and keep to the ongoing practice of trusting Him with your time and responsibilities.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 sums up this mindset well.  The writer, Paul, encourages us to “pray continually” – as in, be always attentive to and engaged with the Lord’s presence.  Recall that putting prayer at the top of your to do list actually will help align the rest of your list.  Pray first and always, and your to do list will be in its best form.  Martin Luther said it another way, declaring "I have so much to do that I shall have to spend three hours in prayer."  Having lots to do never justifies deferring prayer.  Rather, there is all the more to pray about!You may have heard it said that repetition leads to habit and habit leads to reflex.  Keep seeking divine efficiency so that it may become a reflexive way of life.  Instead of the old saying, “practice makes perfect,” I prefer something like “practice builds presence.”  Extensive practice ensures that whatever is being practiced is there with you – always accessible and available.  It also provides peace to wait on God’s timing (see Ps. 19:13).One of my favorite images is an upward spiral… it defies gravity and the natural ways of the world… it builds upon every previous layer… and it keeps on ascending, covering more territory and taking us closer to our Heavenly Father.  Sound desirable?  Divine efficiency will create space to pray (and produce) more… and praying (and producing) more will enhance your pursuit of divine efficiency… which in turn helps you focus your prayers further, and again brings you back to operating with greater divine efficiency.  It can keep on going, and that’s an exciting upward spiral.With the right mentality (Part 1), motivations (Part 2), expectations (Part 3), and approach (Part 4), you’ll be set up to produce at divinely efficient levels.  It’s an amazing gift to be loved by your Creator, to be part of His work, and to know He is trustworthy.  Trust Him as you go.