At creation, God exemplified a pattern for our work days. And even with the curse, there is still a satisfaction that comes from the completeness of a day of work.
Het paradijs met de zondeval van Adam en Eva, Jan Brueghel, 1630.
I’ve been studying the book of Genesis in depth, and something struck me recently about how God structured the days of creation. I think there may be something in this pattern that we can imitate in our own work.
We know the command in Exodus 20:11 to keep the Sabbath is backed by the fact that this is how God worked and rested in the creation week. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.” But what if we can also learn from God’s pattern of work at the daily level?
Here’s God’s pattern for daily work as I see it: In Genesis 1, when describing the days of creation, God chooses a thing to work on, completes that one thing, and then appreciates that one thing. This cycle repeats over and over again with the creation days.
For example, in Genesis 1:3-5, it says, “And God said, ‘Let there be light.'” Here’s the thing He’s choosing to do that day—one project for the day. He chose it, completed it, and there was light. Then He stood back and appreciated it, “And God saw that the light was good,” it says in verse 4. This pattern repeats on most days of creation.
What if we copied this pattern? What if we said, “What is the one thing I’m going to do today?” worked it to completion, and then took the time to stand back and appreciate what we had made, and in our case, give thanks to God? I submit that this pattern would provide a more satisfying and productive workday.
A Pattern for Satisfying Work
Even though work is cursed (Genesis 3), there is still a satisfaction we can draw from work that mimics the way God worked in creation: choosing one thing, working it to completion, and then taking the time to stand back and admire the work and give gratitude to God for it.
When we complete things, we feel productive. The frustrating days are when you have many unfinished tasks. Busy days are not about doing a lot of work but having many open loops. Feelings of frustration and busyness come from too much incomplete work.
The Garden of Eden, Izaak van Oosten, 1655-61.
What if we followed God’s pattern and “day-sized” our projects? Instead of trying to do twenty different random things, we did the best we could do, packaging our day’s tasks into one big project of the day. Sure, other stuff will need to be done. But having one “day-sized” project that we complete would give us something to look back on and say, “I got X done today, and I feel good about it.”
The Four D’s of a Productive Day
Here’s how this might look as a framework:
- Decide: At the start of the day, decide what the big thing is you’re going to work on. This gives you time to pray and commit your plans to the Lord.
- Defend: Defend your choice from distractions throughout the day. Interruptions will hit you from all sides, but be determined to make your chosen task the priority. (This step is necessary for us and wasn’t for God because of the curse).
- Discharge: Before the end of the day, see that the project is completed.
- Delight: At the end of the day, take the time to look back at what you’ve completed and appreciate it. Give thanks to God for a good day’s work.
By deciding, defending, discharging, and delighting, we can have more satisfying days and better imitate how God worked during the days of creation. This pattern of work can lead to a more productive and fulfilling workday.
