The lines between productivity and purpose can blur so easily, especially in seasons where doing feels safer than being. Let’s sit with this for a moment.

Productivity whispers: “Keep going — your worth is in what you can achieve.” It counts the checkboxes, the hours, and the output. It often wears the mask of importance, convincing us that our significance is tied to our busyness. And while there is dignity in hard work, productivity alone can become a false altar when it disconnects us from presence, people, and the quiet voice of God.

Purpose, though… purpose breathes. It asks deeper questions. It waits. It invites us to linger, to listen, to rest. Purpose doesn’t always produce immediate results, but it roots us in who we are becoming, not just what we are doing. It’s a fruit of intimacy with God, not a hustle for approval.

So, where might you have mistaken productivity for purpose?🤔

Perhaps:

• When you said yes out of obligation, not conviction.

• When rest made you feel guilty, like you were falling behind.

• When the applause of others felt more nourishing than peace within.

• When your calendar was full but your soul felt empty.

• When creating became a performance instead of a prayer.

Here’s a gentle truth: God never asks us to earn our purpose. It’s given, not achieved.

Not the frantic things. Not the most efficient things. The good things — the deeply true, God-breathed things.