“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7
It’s been one of those months.
I was out of town most of last week working on a new project. Then, I came home to a cold house and a broken boiler. On Monday, I had jury duty and got picked to serve on a trial that is still dragging on. And I’m supposed to take a week off for family vacation this Sunday. All the while, I have deadlines to meet, emails to answer, a community to manage, interviews to give, promises to fulfill, a chicken coop to build, a family to serve, talks to prepare, articles to write.
I’m not complaining—I promise!
This is just real-life stuff. This is productivity in the trenches of life. And it’s in these seasons that I’m reminded that life stewardship is not merely a matter of strategies and life hacks.
I put my money where my mouth is with what I teach about time management. I plan my weeks, I practice my POWER Morning, I work ahead to create a buffer in my schedule, I keep my responsibilities to a manageable level using a quarterly commitment audit.
But this month, I’ve burned through all my buffer time, my schedule has flown the coop, and my responsibilities are exceeding my capacity. And as I sit here now, I’m writing this the morning I’m supposed to send it. And even as I type, half my mind is preoccupied with everything I need to do in the next two days.
“How am I going to get all of this done?”
The truth is that productivity is not the solution to all of your problems. That’s the promise of secular productivity, isn’t it? Peace, order, simplicity, abundance—the life you want—is just on the other side of one simple system/technique/app/framework.
You can become the most efficient and effective person alive, and you’ll still be a time-bound creature living in a fallen world. But that message doesn’t sell books.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe very much that productivity matters. It’s a matter of faithful stewardship of the time God has given you. Having clear priorities, organized systems, and consistent habits will bring order to the chaos of your life. It’s just wisdom of the kind Solomon explicates in the Proverbs.
But productivity is not a panacea.
No matter how good you get at goal-setting, habits, or time management, you’re still going to come up against hard limits, you’re going to have seasons where all the systems fall apart, and you’re going to feel inadequate, overwhelmed, and anxious. At times, you’re still going to wonder, “How am I going to get this all done?”
And what I want to remind you of today, is that these seasons of stress and systems break down are providential reminders sent to you by a loving Heavenly Father to remind you that you still need Christ. You can’t do this alone. Christ is the one working through you to accomplish His will. Christ is the one on whom you cast your cares in that busy season when you don’t know how everything will get done. Christ is the one you turn to for succor when the task is heavier than you can lift.
God delights in using clay pots like us, cracks and all, not because we are the most effective instruments in ourselves but because His glory shines through our weakness.
So, if you’re having “one of those months” or even just one of those days, I want to encourage you to take a breath and turn to Christ in prayer. You can’t do this alone; He doesn’t expect you to.
