Called it! Is what we would say when playing basketball. We would shoot the basketball, and when we took a shot that we knew was headed right into the basket, we would say, “That’s going in,” and not even run in for the rebound. If we made the shot despite opponents’ doubts, we would say it: “Called it.” That basketball belonged in that hoop.

It’s not as simple to know where we belong as people — as individuals journeying through life by taking steps in the directions that we hope one day we will say we knew we were meant to go. How do we know when we are going in the right direction, with the right people, doing the right thing, belonging in the circumstances we find ourselves in?

When I walk into a clothing store, I sense belonging when I see things that I like, when I see products that appeal to my taste and persuade me to try them on. The customers look similar to me in their styles, and the employees are available to help me find what I’m looking for.

When I walk into a church, I sense belonging when I am welcomed by the people around me. I feel belonging when I can imagine myself building relationships, fitting into the community, and getting involved in the opportunities available.

But belonging is not always meant to be a sense that comes in response or reaction to a present circumstance.

A sense of belonging exists through intentional knowledge and purposeful actions that reveal and accentuate who we already envision ourselves to be. It is already knowing that the basketball is meant to go into the hoop, belonging in that motion to serve its purpose in the game. It is already knowing that I am walking into a store with a knowledge of my tastes and preferences. It is already seeking to invest in the people and ministries that I am choosing to enter into community with.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he knew what he was doing. He was welcomed with branches from trees and clothes laid on the road before him (Matthew 21). But even before he entered Jerusalem, Jesus knew he belonged there; He had instructed two of his disciples to get a donkey and a colt for him to ride into town on. He had called it. He belonged there, for that very moment, for the very purpose of fulfilling a prophecy. And, even in the most devastating circumstances of belonging when he asked of God, “Why have you forsaken me?”, Jesus bore the cross because he knew himself and he knew the purpose of this circumstance. He knew the glorious resurrection was to come. He had called it.

I find myself in a season of transition during which I know I belong and also ask of God of God’s whereabouts. It is easy to know when I belong if I am being welcomed and affirmed and progress is being made without shadows of doubts. It is easy to have a sense of belonging when hope abounds and celebration exists. But, to have a sense of belonging in the desert as Jesus did before he began his ministry… to have a sense of belonging journeying to the promised land through valleys for so many years as the Israelites did… to have a sense of belonging in the Kingdom of Heaven means more than the mountaintops and streams of living water. To have a sense of belonging in the Kingdom of Heaven means to grow in the intentional knowledge of who God is and who I am through Christ. To have a sense of belonging in the Kingdom of Heaven means to live out the purposeful actions that God’s gracious and merciful love compels.

Sometimes we need to (prayerfully) call it, trust God, and go for it. With the awareness that God welcomes us into the Kingdom of Heaven, we can know we belong. The hard part is learning how to live that out — but having a sense of belonging with a Kingdom perspective that sees beyond roadblocks, reroutes, and dead ends; because we know victory is here, and it is on its way.

Liz Chang resides with her husband in New York City. She graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a Masters of Science degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.