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average American teenage girl. This earthly culture flashes glamorous images of fame, wealth and beauty. Sometimes I desire to chase their definition of worldly success. My royalty identity is something unseen and it doesn't gain me much applause or affirmation from the world. Sometimes, I wish I could simply slip on a wig like Hannah Montana, and conform to my jaded surroundings, just like a chameleon. It certainly would be easier.
But like Mia, I have discovered that attempting to mix the words average and extravagant into the same sentence, let alone the same life, can be extremely challenging. Continuing to think like an average girl, when I have been called to an extravagantly royal existence just doesn't work. Lilly urged Mia to take full advantage of the opportunity being handed to her:
“You know, you being a princess is kind of a miracle.”
Mia didn't quite see things that way. She asked Lilly to explain what was so great about her life being flipped upside down. Lilly explained the disappointing truth that her cable show only reached five people. She had little to none influence. But Mia? She had real power. A priceless opportunity. “Having the power to affect change and make people listen? What more of a miracle do you want?””
Grandmother Clarisse didn't force Mia into the job. But if she refused to take the crown, someone else would. There was a usurper lurking in the shadows, hoping to pounce on the power. (Mr. and Mrs. Barren. Remember the postage-stamp nose lady?) The same is true of us, if we abandon our royal crown, there is an enemy waiting to take possession of it.
Just like Mia, we have a choice to make. Will we take a step of faith toward our royal calling and receive the invitation into the King's courts? Or will we shrink back in fear with inadequate feelings of hopelessness, settling for our drab Americanized lives?
Boldly choosing to respond to our call as Daughters of the King will powerfully influence the lives of those around us. When we seek the Kingdom of Heaven and the One who rules, ask to learn His secrets, and live according to His royal law on the earth, we get to partner with Christ and live out the most amazing, exhilarating, epic, story ever told!
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:17
What an amazing, mind blowing truth! We are co-heirs with Christ. Jesus desires to partner with us on this royal mission.
But if we chose to ignore this call and become full-fledged citizens of this world, bending to its rules and striving for it's lofty standards of perfection ... we will be exhausted and defeated.
So many of us walk around our High Schools like we are powerless. We live as victims, rather than as victors. We talk about what happened on the cross as though it had little impact on our lives today, and small significance of who we are now. It's easy to grope about how hard our lives are, major on the negatives, and believe our prayers have little power, if any at all. I am not condemning anyone who feels like this – I often feel the same way! Our lives are hard. We have an enemy who desires to discourage and destroy us. There's nothing easy about that! Yet, instead of sitting around and wishing things would get better, it's high time we approach the King and petition change. We must understand who we are, what we already have, and what God wants us to ask for.
Sister, I pray that these words stir something in your soul. If it is hope, or excitement, let it rise. If it is a vast discomfort and disgust with the way things have always been...let it surface. You are a princess. You have a destiny, a hope, and a future. It's okay to let feelings of discontentment arise! You're in the middle of a major mental shift. Mia had to work through this as well...
If you feel like you've been cheated, lied to, and have walked in anything less than the fullness of who you were created to be...that's because you were. The enemy knows you were created for royal greatness, and he has tried to keep you from understanding that. But now is the time to rejoice! Get excited and determined! You are no longer ignorant to this call of brilliant greatness on your life! If you partner with Christ to pursue His heart and His Kingdom...you will be unstoppable!
Let us walk together and encounter our Royal King. Doing so will forever change the way we see Him, ourselves and the world around us. Let's refuse to let fear keep us from embracing our calling. In the past we have forfeited our royal authority to the enemy by:
A) Choosing to seek the world and all its flashy, neon-light pleasures for fulfillment, rather than God.
B) Being ignorant of what we've been given in Christ, and of our royal identity.
C) Falling in love with this culture, subscribing to their ideals, and conforming to the world around us.
Mia asked Joe, her security guard, “Can't I simply quit?”
Joe replied, “You can quit the job...but you can never stop being who you truly are...a princess.”
It's a daily struggle, to live aware of the unseen, and pursue the Kingdom of Christ. We get distracted by so many sparkly and shiny things that demand our attention. We daily abandon God's word for pleasure and enjoyment, and quite often chose the easiest path rather than the high road. With each passing day, life reveals the loyalty of my heart or lack thereof. As a Princess, carrying the name of Christ and the desires of my Father, am I willing to suffer temporary stings like persecution, discomfort, and people rolling their eyes behind my back? Am I willing to stand up against the voices that say, “Why don’t you just do things our way?” Or do I care more about what man thinks of me?
Refusing to live out the call as His Royal Ones and powerfully influence this earth, makes us terrible stewards of what we've been given. I often forget, or don't even realize who I am and who God is in my life. When distractions enrapture my heart, I forget about the unseen Kingdom that I have been called to.
One way that I manage do to this quite brilliantly is through worrying. Majoring on the seen and obsessing over uncontrollable details such as what my future holds, finances, who I'll be marrying, the next book I'll write, if people like me or not, and if my ministry will be effective. Quite often, I take a microscope and examine my life. I start biting my nails. Too bad that just like Mia, sometimes I can't see past my big bushy eyebrows of worry.
I need to spend more time looking at the unseen, so that I do not forget who God is, what He has planned, and who I am in Christ! Often I need to remind myself of His unbridled goodness, and direct my eyes upward. Just look at all the Father has given us! We have a twenty four seven All-Access backstage pass into the very throne room of God! We can enter any time you need, crawl up on his lap, and ask Him anything. We have His undivided attention.