The temptation, on some days, to think that I am somehow a disappointment, that I am not as I should be, that I am somehow too much and too little all at the same time … is overwhelming to say the least, as I’m sure many women know. And yet, this week, as I was listening to a sermon by Lisa Bevere about Isaiah 52:1-2, God began showing me something powerful about who I am called to be as a woman, and who you (if you are also a woman) are to be. Isaiah 52:1-2 in the Knox translation says:
“Up, up, array thyself, Sion, in all thy strength; clothe thyself as befits thy new glory, Jerusalem, city of the Holy One! The uncircumcised, the unclean shall enter thee no more. Shake the dust from thee, Jerusalem, rise up and take thy throne; rid thy neck of the chains that bound it, Sion, once captive queen!”
Once captive queen … that phrase captures my imagination, calls to the deep, long forsaken places of my heart and beckons me to awake. Even reading the words now, the words I’ve been meditating on all week, my heart aches to believe these verses could be speaking of me, that in some realm I cannot see that I am a once captive queen, arising to take my throne in the Kingdom of God and take back what the enemy has so long held in captivity … and even as I write it, I tremble, because I know it is so. As women, we are to rise up, to awake to the divine destiny and plan God has for our lives, to clothe ourselves with the glorious plan of God for our lives, to assert our uniquely feminine strength (that inspires and embraces the strength of the men around us, rather than diminishing it). Why have we let ourselves be limited to exhausted lives where our hearts are considered too much to be explored? Why have we limited ourselves to small dreams? Why have we limited ourselves and our God-given destiny to routine and structure and what feels safe? That is not the way of a queen! And that is certainly not God’s best plan for us! He tells us in Ephesians 3:20 that He is the God who can do infinitely beyond what we can ask or imagine. Why? To challenge us to dream bigger, to stretch our faith farther, to rise to the occasion and dare to envision a life with God and for God that is beyond our greatest imaginations! A life where He gets all the glory for the radical life we live! And as women, we are called to stand up and be a part of that, to battle for the lives of those around us in a uniquely feminine way, to fill a throne with compassion and passion and enchantment!
And as if reading that verse on its own were not enough, I entreat you to look at the verse in the King James Version. I added some of the definitions from the Strong’s Concordance behind the words. Listen to what your Father, your King, would say to you today about who you are. Listen to what He says about me, as well … And open your heart. Isaiah 52:1-2, KJV+Strong’s:
“Awake, awake; put on (wrap around yourself and arm yourself with) thy strength (boldness, loudness, power, security, and praise), O Zion; put on (wrap around yourself and arm yourself with) thy beautiful (brave and glorious) garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself (as the mane of a lion is shaken when it roars) from the dust (and rubbish); arise (stir yourself up, establish yourself, accomplish, and succeed), and sit down (tarry), O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”
Wrap yourself in security, women! Did you hear that?? Forget insecurity! Be secure in who God created you to be, and joyously enter the adventure He is calling you to! Adorn yourself with the bravery and glorious nature He has designed for you. Shake yourself free from all that’s holding you back in the faith and establish yourself in Christ, in the Word. You’ll be amazed what you accomplish for the Kingdom, when you recognize the powerful role He is calling you to play. You are called to reign in life, to be a queen who executes justice for the lowly, who draws attention to the lost and overlooked.
John and Stasi Eldredge, in their book, Captivating, write about it this way:
“You are a woman. An image bearer of God. The Crown of Creation. You were chosen before time and space, and you are wholly and dearly loved. You are sought after, pursued, romanced, the passionate desire of your fiancé, Jesus. You are dangerous in your beauty and your life-giving power. And you are needed. As a woman who has been ransomed and redeemed (remember the “once captive queen” bit?), you can be strong and tender. You speak to the world of God’s mercy, mystery, beauty, and his desire for intimate relationship. You are inviting. You can risk being vulnerable, offering the weight of your life as well as your need for more because you are safe in God’s love. You labor with God to bring forth life – in creativity, in work, in others. Your aching awakened heart leads you to the feet of Jesus, where you wait on him and wait for him. The eyes of his heart are ever upon you. The King is captivated by your beauty. We need you. We need you to awaken to God more fully and to awaken to the desires of the heart that he placed within you so that you will come alive to him and to the role that is yours to play.” (p. 217)
Women, I wish I could tell you all the great things that God is calling you to. Even when you feel you are too much, that no one has time for your heart, for your passions – Christ does. He put them there. It is His greatest desire to see you living out of your redeemed heart and passion for the things of God. He will restore you, restore your vision of yourself and create a future for you that you have never imagined. Dear one, dear sisters in Christ … don’t believe the lie that you aren’t enough, that you are too much … Look to Christ. Look deeply into the Word, into His heart for you, and know … you are a Queen, awakening to her power, awakening to her role in the universe, awakening to her King more and more everyday … Don’t settle for less.
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