Connection with God Is Relational Beauty
God’s Original Design
by David Dicken Jr. / March 2026
From Feeling Lost to a Place of Belonging
A 20-year-old young man who had aged out of foster care once said to me, “I don’t know who I am.” Those words carry the ache of disconnection. They reveal a longing not merely for answers, but for belonging. What if the deeper question beneath those words is not simply Who am I? but Where do I belong? What if we gently replaced the thought “I don’t know who I am” with two life-giving words: connection and belonging.
There’s a well-known statement in recovery circles: “The opposite of addiction is not sobriety; it’s connection.” Sobriety removes a substance, but connection restores a soul. Perhaps that is what Scripture has been telling us all along.
Restored to Something Original
In Psalm 23, David paints a picture of God not as distant or demanding, but as near, attentive, and tender:
“The Lord is my shepherd…
He lets me rest in fields of tender sweetgrass.
He guides me beside quiet and peaceful waters.
He restores my soul…
You are close by my side.
Your walking stick and chief’s staff bring comfort and peace to me.”
David speaks of restoration. Restoration implies something original. So what does it mean to be restored?
When David says, “He restores my soul,” it invites us into a journey toward wholeness — a process of closeness with God where we are slowly put back together. This journey brings emotional relief. It slows our racing thoughts and allows us to rediscover who we truly are. It becomes a place we can call home, where we feel calm and secure.
Perhaps what is being restored is connection itself — God’s original design of relational beauty. A design where we are known, guided, protected, and comforted. Connection with God is not a religious obligation. It is our life source.
Made New — Becoming True Human Beings
In the First Nations Version of Ephesians 4:23–24 we read:
“You are now true human beings, with a new way of seeing and thinking. Put on the regalia of your new life. For you have been made new, created again to look like the one who made you, standing in a good way and walking a true and sacred path.”
The Apostle Paul calls us true human beings.
As our connection with God deepens, we begin to experience a new way of being human — both individually and together. But for many people, this is not easy. For some, it feels like an impossible struggle. Discouragement often grows from adverse life experiences: sins committed against us, abuse, trauma, neglect, and betrayal. These painful experiences distort our identity and damage our self-image. Addiction, shame, and abandonment can deepen those distortions.
Though we are created in God’s image, suffering can fracture our sense of who we are.
“To understand the devastating impact of abuse, we need to understand the manner in which abuse perverts the image of God in humans.”
— Dr. Steve Tracy, Mending the Soul: Understanding and Healing Abuse
Jesus came to restore us through connection — to reestablish the original beauty of our design. God recreates us to reflect the One who made us. Restoration is relational. It is also a purification of the soul.
In 1 Peter 1:22 (ESV) we read:
“Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.”
We become fully human not in isolation, but in communion with God and in healthy community with others.
The Beauty of Being Joined Together
In the Gospel of John, chapter 17, Jesus prays:
“The beauty you gave to me I have given to them. This will join them together with us… beautifully joined together as one… This is the reason you sent me into this world, to show that you love them just as you love me.” (John 17:22–23, FNV)
And again:
“Father, I desire that they also… be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory… for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24, NASB2020)
Notice the invitation: to be simultaneously connected to both God and one another.
This beautiful connection existed even before the foundation of the world within the Trinity. Within the Trinity there is relational beauty — and Jesus invites us into that same beautiful connection.
Jesus models this union:
“I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
“I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me.” (John 14:10)
“Abide in Me, and I in you… apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4–5)
The Holy Spirit fills, indwells, empowers, guides, and sustains this living union.
Paul encourages us in Ephesians 5:18 to drink deeply of the Holy Spirit:
“It is not wise to become a drunk, for it will lead you to a life of emptiness and sorrow. Instead, drink deeply of Creator’s Spirit, and he will lead you into a life of beauty and harmony.”
I love that phrase — “drink deeply.” It evokes the image of drinking from a great fountain of living water. Connection with God is indwelling life. Relational beauty is a union where we are fully joined with each other in love. This is what we see in the Trinity. And it is the invitation extended to us.
“So then, together you all form the body of the Chosen One, and each one of you has a place in that body.” (1 Corinthians 12:27 FNVNT)
The Benefits of Connection
When we live in relational beauty with God, we experience:
• Life — deep inner joy
• Trust — confidence in His goodness
• Safety — security in His presence
• Purpose — identity anchored in what God says about us
• Hope — a renewed outlook on God, life, and ourselves
• Beauty and harmony — a life that overflows
Through this connection with God and life-giving community, we are known, restored, and made whole, strengthening our self-confidence.
Comforting One Another
The Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 1:4–7 that the comfort we receive from God is meant to flow outward to others.
I especially love the language of the First Nations Version:
“The Great Spirit walks with us through times of trouble, giving us courage and well-being so that we can give to others the same comfort he has given to us… This gives us great hope, for we know that when you share in our troubles, you will also share in our comfort.”
If your loved one is suffering, start with comfort. When we comfort those we love, we open the door for the Holy Spirit to bring overflowing strength and well-being. The result is renewed hope.
Please let me remind you: in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says that when we walk with Him, we are salt and light—bringing cleansing and healing, a bright shining light in a dark world.
How Do We Experience Deeper Connection?
Pray — With Gratitude
Look at King David’s expression of gratitude in Psalm 23:5 FNV:
“You honor me with a headdress of many feathers. My cup is overflowing with life-giving water.”
David is decorated with honor. His cup overflows.
Prayer cultivates secure attachment with a loving God. Gratitude shifts our focus from fear to comfort and trust. A secure connection with God relieves anxiety and strengthens resilience during times of stress.
“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV
2. Seek Healing
Connection with God does not eliminate the need for support.
If you are struggling with trauma, abuse, adverse experiences, or mental health challenges, seek professional care. God cares about your whole being — mind, body, and spirit. Even in suffering, He is near — just as He was near to Job in his anguish. Healing and faith work together as part of our journey toward restoration, providing hope.
3. Connect with Healthy Life-Giving Community
We are not meant to heal alone.
High-Quality Connection (HQC) involves meaningful, reciprocal relationships — at church, work, school, or home. Healthy community shapes our individuality and clarifies our purpose. It helps us grow through shared values, experiences, and a sense of calling. Community is where we:
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15)
Reciprocal care and comfort in life-giving community build confidence and develop our sense of value, worth, and purpose.
For more on life-giving community, explore the Relational section of the Thrive course at:
https://mentalhealthgracealliance.org/thrive
From “I Don’t Know Who I Am” to “I Belong”
When someone says, “I don’t know who I am,” what they may truly be saying is: “I don’t know where I belong.” Identity forms through connection and belonging. It is the restoration of beauty.
Look at the Apostle Paul’s self-authoring in Galatians 2:20 (NASB):
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”
This is Paul’s new life — a deep appreciation for what Christ did for him, followed by a life filled with worth, belonging, purpose, and a deep understanding of who he truly is. This is God’s original design — that we would be beautifully joined together with Him, restored to our true humanity, walking together on a sacred path of love.
The Invitation of Connection
If you are suffering from anxiety, trauma, abuse, addiction, or deep loss, know this: God is not distant from your pain. He cares about you and your feelings.
If you know someone who says, “I don’t know who I am,” you can become part of their restoration journey. Not by fixing them. Not with unsolicited advice. But by offering connection. By offering belonging.
Because connection with God — and with one another — is relational beauty.