This morning as Jan and I took communion, a phrase was spoken during our prayers, “May we be fruitful in rest”. That one sentence became the core of our time together. Fruitfulness is different than productivity. Fruitfulness produces a harvest from a place of abiding. Productivity produces a harvest from a place of human effort. Rest is not a permission slip for sloth. It is a proactive faith – an invitation to a life of peace.

Today, if you find yourself in a difficult situation that is producing unneeded drama and tension, walk away from it for a moment and pray, “Lord, help me find a fruitful rest in this uncomfortable place.” In that moment of disconnect invite the rest of God to invade your thinking. A seed of faith will then begin to sprout in the place of your abiding. It will contain the answer that has eluded you and caused the current unrest in your soul. A harvest of fruitfulness will be released that the best of your productivity could never produce.