God captured my heart at a young age in a Sunday school class located in the small town of Jefferson, Oregon. Despite the 25+ years of knowing and walking with Him, there have been poignant moments where I have felt my identity be rocked to the core.
For over half of my twenties, I wondered who I was, especially as my friends began to identify as wife, or mother, or career women. I didn’t have any of those titles. I felt like I was floundering. It wasn’t until a few years later that I could place together the pieces of my life’s puzzle (though God already knew the completed picture) and see my identity.
In those months of clarity, I realized my identity was never to be placed in my marital status, or career, or lack of motherhood. My identity rests in being a child of God. As a child of God, at any point in time, I can remind myself of the following three characteristics of this good, good God.
God is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and End
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Before time existed, God was. He is beyond time, which means I can trust in His timing. He isn’t anchored to minutes or hours or days, even years. He placed me in this specific time, for such a time as this. Additionally, God is the Omega, or the end. Revelation 1:8 shares, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” In the end, God will be there. When my timeline doesn’t make sense, I can fix my eyes upon the God who knows no limits.
When my Soul Feels Unsettled, I Know I am Chosen by God
1 Peter 2:9 states, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” When I fight rejection, whether that be in relationships or career choices, I know my identity as a child of God means that God picked me! Of the millions of people He creates, He sought after me with reckless abandon. At my core, this is what I want. To be chosen, to be loved. I am not forgotten, but hand picked by a loving God.
My Identity is Anchored to the Truth that God Knows and Sees Everything
Psalm 139: 1-6 proclaims, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” Before I was even a thought in my parents’ heads, God knew me. He knows all of my thoughts and knows exactly what I am going to say before it is even said. God’s omniscience, or all-knowing manner, means He knows and sees my sin, and desires my heart anyway. Nothing I do is hidden from God, and that means I can rest assured as His child—known, seen, and loved deeply.
As I grow and mature in my walk of faith, I know trying times will come. They are guaranteed. My identity will be called into question, no doubt about it. Satan loves to wreak havoc against our souls and cause all sorts of upset. But despite the attacks, my soul will trust in the Alpha & Omega, the God who chooses me, and knows and sees me for who I am, His child.
Sarah Dohman is a nurse, kayak enthusiast, coffee addict, microbrew lover, globetrotter, adorer of friends and family. She has a weakness for donuts, runs in 5k races, and cannot get enough tea and books. She loves writing more than talking (and she talks a lot), can be seen at Target frequently, and is loving life in her thirties. She believes God has called her to this space to bring joy and encouragement through words to friends and family, near and far. You can find more from Sarah on her blog or on Instagram.
Anchored Voices 