Sometime you can just tell when something’s not right. You can just tell when you don’t belong where you are. Whether it’s a discontent or a difficulty fitting in, there’s a dissonance in your spirit. You just know it.
This was the case for Moses in chapter 2 of Exodus. Perhaps it was all that time bonding with his birth mother, as she nursed him for Pharaoh’s daughter, that led him to feel like he didn’t belong in Pharaoh’s family. Maybe it was the lack of acceptance and approval from his own people that made him feel like he didn’t belong with them. Even after he had a wife and a family of his own, the thoughts and connections of the past kept him feeling like an alien.
Feeling like you don’t fit in or don’t belong can be very frustrating and even painful. But the discomfort of feeling like an alien can be turned toward a powerful and positive outcome.
- It can be a sign that God is transitioning you to a new phase in your life and service.
- The discontent and discouragement can move you to work on yourself and engage with others more.
- Or, it can be a simple reminder that this world can never be your home, because you are an alien in this world until you are home with Jesus.
Despite the reason, feeling like you don’t fit in or don’t belong can be a powerful turning point in your life…if you let it open you up to God’s purpose and plan for your life.
Moses had no idea where his discontentment would lead him, and neither do we!
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.