Beauty in Belonging: Anchoring in Christ in Every Season by Jenny ErlingssonSample

Day 2: Belonging in Christ

I’ll never forget the question the Lord asked me during one of my maternity leaves. I had just given birth to my second child and stepped away from the ministry I’d enjoyed leading for eight years. However, I recognized that I was growing increasingly dependent on the opinions of others and was also feeling some self-inflicted rejection because of my sometimes isolated role on Sundays. I had forgotten that I didn’t belong to the fear of man but to the One who had spoken over me and formed me in my mother’s womb.

One day, as I held my newborn son, I heard the Lord ask me, “Are you satisfied in me?” With surprising boldness, I answered no, I wasn’t satisfied in Him. Out of that exchange, the Lord began to speak to my heart about what it meant to belong to Him, about leaning into what He said about me, and about how much He loved me.

In Her Part to Play, John wrestles with all the decisions he needs to make concerning his career. He’s enjoyed being an actor, but after many mistakes and an intense breakup, he’s wondering if his career is where he still needs to be. Because he has leaned into the accolades and applause for so long, he wrestles with who he is without those. Should he give in to the manipulations of the people around him or engage in the atmosphere of authenticity and faith that he senses whenever he’s around his makeup artist, Adanne?

“Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean it has to be your dream. Or your hustle."

Adanne gently speaks these words to John one evening on a winding walk under the setting sun. Knowing our identity reminds us that we are not anchored in worldly opinions or even in the shifts of our lives. We are anchored and established in Christ. Being a child of God is not something we earn, but it is a position that Jesus purchased for us on the cross. Just as my son was born and belonged to me through nothing he could do on his own, in Christ’s kingdom, when you are born again, you are born as a child who hasn’t done anything to earn approval. It is yours because you are completely loved by God, and through Christ, you belong to Him.