Identity Formed in Proximity

The Canonical reading of Scripture has been stirring something deep within me. As I read, one story in particular would not let me go, the story of Moses.

Moses’ life starts amid upheaval

Born during a genocide.

Saved, but still incomplete separated.

Adopted into a culture that was not his own.

From the beginning, his identity was complicated.

He must have looked different. Spoken differently. Carried questions he could not easily answer.

Who am I?

Where do I belong?

What do I do with the past I escaped but never truly faced?

Scripture tells us that Moses kills an Egyptian and then runs into the wilderness, into obscurity, into silence. It is easy to frame this as fear or failure. But perhaps it was also an identity crisis. A man unsure of who he is will always struggle to stand fully in who he is called to be.

When God speaks to Moses from the burning bush, Moses resists.

Who am I that I should go?

I am not eloquent.

I am incapable.

His resistance is not rebellion; it is confusion.A fractured sense of self standing before a holy God.

And yet, Moses’ story does not end in disqualification. It unfolds in proximity.

Years pass in the wilderness. Years of tending sheep. Years of obscurity. And somewhere in that hidden place, Moses grows, not in confidence of skill, but in connection with God. Scripture later tells us that Moses spoke with God “face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11).

This is where identity begins to heal. Identity is not affirmed in noise. It is clarified in nearness.

As Moses grows in intimacy with God, something remarkable happens: he begins to reflect God's glory. After spending time in God’s presence, his face shines so much so that he must veil it. The glory he reflects is not self-generated. It is borrowed. It is the result of proximity.

This has been deeply confronting for me.

I have realised that much of my own resistance in life, my hesitation, my overthinking, my striving, has often been rooted not in unwillingness, but in identity questions.

Am I enough?

Am I capable?

Do I really belong here?

Like Moses, I have learned that identity is not resolved by trying harder, but by drawing nearer.

Scripture tells us that humanity was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). That image was never meant to be shaped by achievement, approval, or performance. It was meant to be formed through a relationship. In Christ, this truth is restored. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Not a repaired version of the old, but something entirely new.

Jesus Himself models this order. Before His ministry begins, before miracles or sermons, heaven opens and declares, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Identity is affirmed before assignment is released.

This has reshaped the way I understand growth.

To go higher, I must first go deeper.To influence the wider, I must first dwell more closely.

Identity is affirmed in the place of proximity to God. It is formed over time, through prayer, through silence, through learning to know the heart of God. The more time I spend with Him, the more His nature begins to reflect in me. Not perfectly, but truly.

This is the journey I believe the Lord is calling us into in this season. Not a louder faith, but a deeper one. Not wider influence without depth, but rootedness that sustains impact.

“In His Image” is not just a concept; it is a becoming. A return to the Source. A life shaped by presence before performance.

And like Moses, I am learning that the glory we reflect is directly connected to the time we spend with God.

This blog is part of a personal journey of faith, identity, formation and dominion. If this reflection resonates with you, I invite you to pause, pray, and consider where your proximity to God might be inviting you to go deeper.