Dive into the Deep by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

I’ve been reading this book for school called Deep Work by Cal Newport. It’s all about how we need to eliminate distractions and to minimize what he calls “shallow” work in order to accomplish large tasks that require regular periods of uninterrupted time. Maybe you want to write a book but you can’t seem to get it done. Perhaps there’s an invention you’d like to pitch but you haven’t been able to put together a proposal. It could be as simple as finding the time to deep–clean your house.

What do you want to accomplish that requires deep work?

I haven’t written a book since 2020, the year I went back to school to study for a Doctor of Ministry, and I have a book that I really want to complete but I no longer seem to have windows of time to chip away at it. However, as Deep Work suggests: What if I quit checking my email (shallow work) so often during the day? What if I took a Sabbatical from social media (shallow work) until I get the book finished? What if I scheduled a couple of hours each day to write? I have a new resolve to go deep rather than shallow so I can complete this book project.

In the same way, God wants to accomplish some deep work in us, but distractions pull us away from time with Him as well. What do you mornings look like? Even if you get into the Bible, do phone notifications lure you away from what you are reading? Better yet, does your mind wander away from what you are trying to comprehend? I’m guilty. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (NIV). But we need undistracted time to listen.

It’s time to move out of the shallow end. Will you join me in getting some deep work accomplished in both our secular and spiritual lives? I am ready to dive into the deep. What about you?

“These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).