Searching for Purpose?

I was sitting next to another mom at my son’s jiu jitsu practice. We started chatting about our kids, life, and the topic came to what we did for a living. She started sharing that she didn’t like her current job. She shared that she really desired to do something with purpose.

When she said that I had to laugh because I’ve been there. If I had a penny for every time I told my husband I was looking for my purpose – well I wouldn’t need to own a business.

It’s funny for someone like me, and the other mom I was talking to, it's easy to look at everyone around you and say why do they have purpose. Meanwhile I’m over here thinking, I’ve got nothing.

This has been a struggle for DECADES for me.

I have been extremely good at seeing everyone else's talents, gifts, and assignments. And I have been extremely good at comparing myself to others.

In the middle of one of those bouts of seeking and asking God – what am I supposed to do. What is my purpose?

I read Psalm 37:3 (CJB)

“Trust in Adonai and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on faithfulness.”

The phrase “Dwell in the land” jumped out at me in an extreme way. I didn’t know what it meant but the spirit told me to dig in.

Let me tell you when I started to look and understand that phrase through the lens of the covenant, it changed everything for me.

What “Land” Meant to the Hebrew Mind

For the original readers, “land” wasn't just land.
It was assignment.
It was identity.
It was provision.

You didn’t buy your land in their culture. You were born into it.
Your family’s name was tied to it. Your future depended on it.
And when God brought Israel into the Promised Land, He assigned each tribe a specific portion — a boundary marked by Him.

So when the psalmist says, “Dwell in the land,” it’s more than a real estate metaphor.
It means:

“Live fully in the place God has assigned to you.”

The thing that struck me is when God gave the tribes of Israel each their specific portion. I imagine one tribe looking across the boundary lines thinking, Why did they get the good land while we’re stuck with this?

And honestly I have found myself in seasons..

Chasing someone else’s land.
Dreaming about better land.
Abandoning my land because it didn’t feel fruitful enough yet.

I wasn’t dwelling in my land like God calls us to.

Let’s Talk About the Word “Dwell”

The Hebrew word here is שָׁכַן (shekhan), which means more than “live.”
It means: to settle, to rest, to abide.

Letter by letter, it paints this picture:

• ש (Shin): Press in, consume, transform
  

• כ (Kaf): Covering, open hand, surrender
  

• ן (Nun): Life, legacy, seed
  

To dwell is to be shaped under God’s hand, rooted where He placed you, and transformed through faithful presence.

It’s the same root as Shekinah — the dwelling presence of God.
So “dwelling in the land” isn’t just about where you are...
It’s about trusting the person who put you there.

What’s Your “Land”?

Your land might not be soil — but it is your assignment.

• The business you’ve been called to build

• The family God’s entrusted to you

• The ministry or message stirring in your heart

• The city or community you’re rooted in

• The season of waiting or refinement you didn’t choose
  

Whatever it is — it’s not random.
It’s your portion. Your assignment. Your territory.
And just like in Scripture, it comes with boundaries and blessings.

But it is so easy to look around at our boundaries and complain.

We complain about the “slow growth” of our land, when other land looks easy.
We complain about the lack of “fruit” in our land versus others' land.
We want to chase someone else’s field, plant our flag, and say “this looks better.”

But that’s not the way of the covenant.

In covenant, you don’t choose.
You receive.
You steward.
You dwell.

Remember the first part of this verse said “Trust Adonai.” 

Trust Him that the land he gave you in this season is exactly where you are meant to be and he will use it to provide for you.

What Are You Feeding On?

Psalm 37:3 doesn’t stop at trusting and dwelling. It then says:

“Dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness.”

We live in a world feeding on...
Numbers. Recognition. Metrics.
We measure and compare “our successes.”

And when those don’t look like what we want them to, it is easy to want to switch land, leave our covenant inheritance from God and go pick what we want.

But in covenant, we stay and dwell in the land and then we feast on God’s faithfulness.
And sometimes all God is asking you to do is simply dwell in the land He’s given you — and obey.

Obey. Dwell. Feed. That’s success.

Land Is Where You Meet God

Let’s not forget — the land was the place of covenant connection.
It wasn’t just where they farmed.
It’s where they remembered who they were and who they belonged to.

Today, your “land” is the purpose God gave you to steward.
Your business, your home, your project, your assignment — these aren’t just tasks.
They are the places where you are invited to dwell with God and grow with God.

You don’t need to envy or compete with others for their land.
You just need to stay planted in the land He gave you,
be faithful in the work before you,
and let your roots grow deep in Him.

Because that’s where the harvest comes from.

Remember, the Lord put you right where you are for a reason. It’s your portion and as soon as we stop looking around for all the other things WE want to do and start living where God has put us – it changes everything.

A Prayer to Dwell

Lord, help me not overlook the land You’ve given me.
Help me not long for someone else’s portion,
but to see the goodness and grace You’ve buried in mine.
Let me dwell.
Let me be faithful.
And let me feed on You — and You alone.

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