God’s Plan Part 1: Productivity via Perfect Peace (7 Principles)

Read Time: 24 minutes

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7, KJV)

This may be the most profound verse written in the scripture about true godly productivity. Take a moment to imagine and visualize your perfect morning. What does it look like? What does it feel like? Can you smell anything, taste anything or touch anything? For me, it is sunlight coming through the windows, or even just before dawn, after some scripture reading, prayer and biblical meditation, as if only to gently nudge us into the day. It’s the connection to our creator from the beginning. It’s the record player spinning peaceful music in the background. It’s alignment with His will and testament for that day. It’s my wife curled up on the couch with a Bible, next to me. The key recurrent theme here is peace and harmony with the spiritual realm. Our hearts and minds on the Word and the Word made flesh. The word keep here (φρουρέω / phroureō in Greek) is certainly connected to the Hebrew word shamar, which means “to guard.” Therefore, our mind is guarded in order to achieve its ultimate goal and victory. Because being guarded is one thing, but being guarded by the peace of God…that is a whole other level. And perhaps you recognized the verse above, perhaps not. Nevertheless, take a look what precedes the “And” in that verse.

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6, ESV)

This is the “secret sauce,” and we will dissect and connect the dots to this together. But also note exactly what we are guarded from – anxiety, worry, fear, the troubles of the world, or anything else that would bring upon anxiety for that matter. And this is exactly what we need to be truly productive beings in His presence and for His glory! We need His all-powerful protection to ensure that we shine our brightest and perform at the peak of our God-given abilities each day.

“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.” (Proverbs 4:18, ESV)

Our most productive sessions come when our mind is in perfect peace and in an optimal state, prepared for creative production and free from ‘superficial distractions.’ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls it Flow while Cal Newport calls it Deep Work. But the question left unanswered in these books (both of which I highly recommend), is how do we attain the perfect peace which precedes our pinnacle performance of productivity (too much alliteration? Haha). There is even a follow-up book to the former, called “Finding your Flow,” and I hope that the precepts that follow do exactly that, lending godly principles to the cause of creative production.

In fact, not only is the Bible a work of art, an instruction manual, and a creation in and of itself (in addition to many other things), it has its own poetic instruments. The term for perfect peace is actually shalom shalom (שלום שלום). Peace squared for those math lovers. There are levels to all of this, and perfect peace is exponential!

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3, ESV)

Again we see the focus is on our mind here. It is not focused outward on our worldly possessions and environment, although this may be a by-product. But rather, it is focused inward on aligning our heart and will with God and harnessing the powerful peace that comes through that alignment.

Simply put, we experience peace when we walk in His ways. We experience peace when we capture those negative thoughts and hold them captive to the Word, to Yeshua. We all know the ways of the world lead to sin and death. But we often forget how many benefits there are in living out our love through following His ways. When our mind is stayed on God and His Word, our Actions will follow. For as many are often quoted saying, thoughts become words and words become action. It also works in reverse, we can use our actions of alignment to further align our thoughts, mind, then heart with the Word of God.

“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:20-23, ESV)

I will also argue that many of the “ways of the world” (and quotes alike) are borrowed from godly principles. They are then simply mixed and bundled with other worldly devices. Therefore, it is critical again to discern His ways from the noise of the world. Ultimately though, by just focusing on our thoughts, we can have an abundance of peace. We hear the phrase a lot “We are our own worst enemy.” But this is because we are friends with the world. When we silence the world, and focus and align on Him in our thoughts and actions, it will only bring us peace and prosperity.

“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:27-29, ESV)

Each of the principles below will be expounded upon in further writings, but they are short snippets to get you started in your thinking, meditation, scripture reading, and alignment with our Creator. No matter your morning routine, these form the underpinnings or atomic particles of any routine that truly drives peaceful productivity.

Perfect Peace Principle #1: Seek Him First (only a short introduction)

As I have mentioned several times above, I will talk about this more in a separate post, because I really think this topic deserves an entire book.

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33, ESV)

So what does this small but potent section of our Savior’s dialogue mean?

It is an invitation into His shalom, His perfect peace. He bluntly says not to worry about what we will drink or eat. Earlier he even says “which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his life span” (Matthew 6:27). Wow, that is actually pretty blunt if you think about it. And most likely this is being generous, because it certainly doesn’t help our mental health if our mind is constantly filled with negative or anxious thoughts – these must be purged.

But our mind cannot stay “empty” for long. Thus after we clear it of worries, we must replace our thought engine with a different kind of fuel. Let’s call it Kingdom fuel or “his righteousness,” more appropriately.

And this is key, the ignition switch if you will. We all have our own definitions of righteousness, let’s be honest. That’s exactly why we have the epistle to the Romans written by Paul to help us out. It, like other letters and books in the New Testament, also works like a key, but a different kind which unlocks mysteries and meanings (if you seek them). And that’s another important point. We need to use the keys given to us in the scriptures and New Testament, not our own wisdom or other books to unlock the mysteries and hidden treasures. His word is a treasure trove for sure, but unless we are using His keys and are led by the Holy Spirit, we can stray away from His word quite quickly. Moreover, let’s look at Romans for another example or key.

“For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:3-4, ESV)

Now at first glance, this seems to only give us what not to do, and seems to also point us away from the law and then we just have to believe in Christ, right?

Not quite. Of course we need to believe in the salvation of Yeshua (which actually means “God saves”), but we need to dive deeper, otherwise we miss the most important point Paul is making. We need to look at the Greek word used here. The word for end in in this verse is “Telos,” which can be translated as “goal or purpose.” And while end is certainly what it is normally translated to, the more precise meaning is “definite or defining point or limit.” As an example, here is another verse where it is used and translated as “end”.

“and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22, ESV)

When we think about goals, we cannot and should not think about them as end points. This is why many successful people are miserable people. They set worldly goals and after they achieve them, they ask “Okay great, What next?” Or even worse, “Why does this all matter?” We need to instead think about goals as checkpoints or gates in the process of life. Gates or checkpoints act as a key marker, pointing to progress or fulfillment. They are not the end, but a point marking a new beginning.

If we replace end with defining point, we can also see how this is also meant to mean goal, cause or even purpose. We always tend to place words in OUR context instead of God’s context. We think of time as linear and place God in a box. There is no end in God’s realm, but there are certainly milestones. If you adjust the microscope here, and when all definitions start to gain clarity, you are probably using the right parameters.

““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-19, ESV)

And as a second witness…

“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.” (Luke 16:17, ESV)

But why am I harping on this point when we are talking about seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Because it is important to understand that the righteousness of Yeshua (Jesus) is God’s righteousness. It is the perfect embodiment of the law, it is the Word made flesh. It is the fulfillment. So we cannot view Yeshua as the end of the law, but rather as the defining point or perfect example of how to fulfill our purpose. Where the law had its limits, Yeshua is the new beginning.

Therefore our Telos, our goal or purpose, our defining point or gateway, should be to seek first his righteousness. Seek the Kingdom. Serve the true King. And all else will be added to you.

For this is the fuel we need to guard our hearts and minds in His perfect peace.

Perfect Peace Principle #2: Take a Deep Breath

Meditation is one example, but even simpler is deep breathing. Taking a few deep breaths is a game changer! Ruach, which can mean spirit or breath, is what God gave to Adam to bring us to life. In Genesis 2, God literally breathed life into Adam (man). Breath is life. Both literally and metaphysically. As a quick win – low-hanging fruit if you will – try taking five deep breaths counting backwards from 5 to 1 the next time you are on edge about anything. Mel Robbins writes a lot about this in her book _5 Second Rule_but again, this is an example of worldly wisdom derived from the godly principles that (a) breathe is life and (b) taking thoughts captive can change your life (in just a matter of seconds). It is no secret that taking deep breath delivers more oxygen to our brain and bloodstream, and our brain thrives with this oxygen. When we compound these breaths with speaking godly wisdom or love for our creator, it is a powerful act of alignment.

“My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips know they speak sincerely. The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:3-4, ESV)

I tell my wife to stop and take a breath sometimes (sometimes to my own dismay). But the breath of God was what gave us life, it’s what is sustaining us, and it’s what delivers oxygen to our blood and organs. Therefore, why shouldn’t it be our focus when we are trying to find peace and a connection to Him! This is a concept that people have turned into entire books. Refer to the book by James Nestor entitled Breath or the hundreds of books on Christian Meditation. We will come back to this in a later post.

“The missing pillar in health is breath. It all starts there.” (Breath, James Nestor)

As you will learn. It is important to fill your mind and heart with the Holy Spirit of God after you clear it from wordly distractions. After you take your deep breath.

Perfect Peace Principle #3: Take your thoughts Captive

Although it is much easier said than done, taking control of our thoughts, especially negative thoughts as they come is one of the most important principles for perfect peace.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, ESV)

Our mind is the battlefield for spiritual warfare. As we fight physical battles with physical weapons, we must use spiritual weapons for spiritual battles. So if we want to achieve peace of mind, we must ensure the battles are over. While the war will always be going on in our world, we can control the battles within our mind. We can win the present. We can fight against evil but raising each attempt of forgery or penetration against the knowledge of God. And what more embodies the knowledge of God, than the Word of God, the Word Incarnate, His son, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah).

Next time you are faced with spiritual warfare in the mind, try this exercise. Notice it, acknowledge it, even call it out. Then wield scripture against it. Why not even quote the scripture above, I do. Even if it is paraphrased, you will be wielding godly wisdom against evil.

And as a “pro tip,” memorize or write verses on your heart and mind (metaphorically speaking). Then recall will be easier, no matter where you are – physically or spiritually.

It really helps to remind yourself, what do you know about God that will combat this evil? What do you know about goodness that will blot the evil out from your mind? God is good, and he gives us the tools and the strength to fight!

“This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,” (1 Timothy 1:18, ESV)

Perfect Peace Principle #4: Align your heart with God

God offers us a heart of perfect peace, shalom shalom. Instead, we chose to align our thoughts and actions with worldly objectives and mindless entertainment. I am equally guilty here if not even more than you. But doesn’t it make sense that these things – albeit stimulating and gratifying in the moment – actually lead us further from Him and into more chaos, disorder, longing for immediate gratification.

Moreover, what we give our minds as food will be digested by our heart (if we allow it). And the quantity and quality of this food is highly impactful. Thus, in an attempt to align our hearts with His heart, we must first understand His will.

Did you know there are over 30 verses that mention both David and Heart in them. For Abraham there is 1, Moses 14 and 7 for Jesus. But I would make the argument that the entire Word is about Yeshua (Jesus), so that would account for all 765 verses that mention heart. 🙂

Nevertheless, the point is that we can learn something about heart alignment from David, so let’s look at a few verses:

“And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’” (Acts 13:22, ESV)

“Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 6:7, ESV)

And now one of David’s psalms…

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” (Psalms 19:7-10, KJV)

And what a beautiful psalm. Does this represent someone who has found perfect peace, or what?! Not only does God confirm that David is a man after His own heart, but David shows exactly why. For another study, look into David’s childhood. This is also telling as to why God chose him as king. It also speaks a lot to his heart.

The Psalms in whole are almost like a book of love poems to God. And it is pure poetry of perfect peace. We should all look to this example. As Yeshua is the perfect model, and David is flawed, we can always take examples from scripture in our quest to emulate our Messiah.

Perfect Peace Principle #5: Meditate on the law day and night

So great, you sought out the Kingdom, controlled your breath, took your thoughts captive, and aligned (filled) your heart, now what?

The seeking is showing up.

The breath is giving you peace and a centering focus.

The taking of thoughts captive is creating the space mentally for godly thoughts. An arena for goodness and greatness.

The alignment is filling your stomach with morsels of marvelous goodness of His word.

Now, this brings us to the need of meditation. The meditation is the digestion of these morsels.

I think Charles Spurgeon sums this idea up quite well in one of his devotions:

“Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscle, and the nerve, and the sinew, and the bone, is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this, and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning, all require inwardly digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it.”

While meditation can take all forms, we should be careful not to mix godly with worldly or secular meditation. Secular meditation tends to try to clear the mind. In Biblical Meditation we do not want to clear the mind, we want to let His word fill us up, resonate with us, and permeate our entire being. His word is good, His laws and precepts are perfect and bring perfect peace. Good in Hebrew is tov (טוֹב) which really means “according to His purpose.” Think back to creation.

The following is some of my favorite scripture. I hope you glean from it the perfect peace which is attained by meditating on what is good. Focusing and aligning your thoughts and mind on good food, which ultimate settles in the heart.

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:1-3, KJV)

Perfect Peace Principle #6: You can’t “outgive” God

After we have digested, we are ready for action. And what better action than giving to others!

Okay, admittedly this idea actually came from how I was raised by my Mother. But getting back to my statement before, it is definitely based upon the godly principle of giving.

I have tested this principle over and over again. Giving while I am in debt. Giving “too much.” Giving while driving. Giving generously without thinking.

You get the point. God loves a cheerful giver!

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7, ESV)

The amount really doesn’t matter, God knows the heart. But trust me when I say this. He will always find a way to give you back more, in some cases 10x more what you have given. You cannot “outgive” God. Just try. Coming full circle, it is just like the first principle, when you first seek the Kingdom and His righteousness, essentially giving Him your time, you will be amazed how He seems to create even more time for you, giving shortcuts or paving ways to create and accomplish that you never even fathomed. I cannot underscore, underline or bold this single principle enough. If you make time for God, he will make much more time in your life – both in terms of quantity and quality.

Knowing these principles, you should have more ‘operational freedom’ to act generously, courageously, and productively. Knowing that God has your back 100% of the time, and that He ALWAYS provides. He will also never give you more than you can handle, but that’s for another time.

“All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.” (Proverbs 21:26, ESV)

Perfect Peace Principle #7: Withdraw and Get some rest

Rest doesn’t always mean sleep. It means taking a step back from your work. It means giving your brain something else to think about and perhaps even making less decisions. Vacation sometimes is entirely active, and this can be a good thing. Rest is something we not only deserve after hard work, but it’s something that is critical to the learning and development process. We need time to reflect, replenish, and renew. We need time to digest.

God took rest (Shabbat) after seven days of creation. And another definition of Shabbat is to cease. God ceased from creating.

Yeshua spent time away from people and his apostles to refresh himself in God. Just look at a few of the examples below.

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, ESV)

“Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all” (Matthew 12:15, ESV)

“Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.” (Matthew 14:13, ESV)

You may not always escape the crowds, as you can see from the multiple attempts Yeshua (Jesus) made above. But nevertheless, he understood how important it was to withdraw. And most importantly, he withdrew to spend time with God.

Work, Withdraw, Worship, now that is a cycle that be practiced daily rhythm. We can embed these precepts into our routines and habits until they become so intertwined with our being that we live them out naturally. When we experience the perfect peace that God offers, it’s hard to get caught up in the hype or flavor of the worldly week. We need a godly foundation when we go out in the world. And remember our cornerstone.

When we reside and abide in God and His son Yeshua HaMashiach, amazing things happen. Perfect peace is one of them.

“May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” (Romans 15:33, ESV)

Shalom v’ahavah.

Takeaways to make a way…

-godly principles should be the first principles (first principles thinking)
-sometimes worldly principles and concepts can contain godlyyy principles or wisdom
-finding a rhythm with God and His Word is critical to productivity and perfect peace
-perfect peace means something different to each individual, as each of our relationships with God is different
-regardless of your cycle, habits, routines, we all need rest

Further Study with your Buddy…

Go off the beaten path, go back and read (or re-read) “Divine Distractions”

Questions for Reflection…

What does your morning routine look like?
How can you incorporate some of these principles in your daily habits and routines?
Which principle stuck with you most and why?
How does studying the Hebrew or Greek help you understand God’s word better?
Do you rest for a day at least once a week? Do you Shabbat?
How much time do you allocate to hearing God’s Word and letting it digest?

Sources

Nestor, J. (2020). Breath. Penguin Life.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. Basic Books.
Newport, C. (2016). Deep work : rules for focused success in a distracted world. New York ; Boston: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-4555-6386-9
“Morning, October 12.” Spurgeon, C. Meditations. [https://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/morneve.d1012am.html]