“Princess”

Some of you won’t be surprised to hear that my dad called me Princess as a little girl. In fact, he still occasionally calls me that nickname. Although the name clearly has its downside (!), I am coming into deeper revelation of how it is actually true of me and of who I am, and am learning to embrace it in a new way. Since I am a child of God, a daughter of the King of kings, I really am a princess. The same title is meant for all of my sisters in Christ, and my brothers have inherited the title of prince. In addition, as we become God’s children when we believe in His Son, we also inherit the family fortune (see Galatians 4:6-7) at the time of believing. However, most of us go on living as if our inheritance is reserved for the next life rather than also for this one. We go through this life without revelation of who we truly are (royalty) and what truly belongs to us now (our Father’s riches) (see Ephesians 2:19).

Oh yes, I’ve lived like I was a princess (I can just see you smirking as you read this! ). I’ve loved to surround myself with the finer things the world can offer… high fashion, gourmet food, trips to the wine country, a beautiful home, fabulous parties, a great career, a handsome man on my arm… anything and everything I could do to create a life of glamour, a life of a princess. But after so many years of living this life—which also included multiple heartbreaks, chronic fatigue, depression, and ultimately burnout (all after becoming born again, by the way)— I was done with the so-called “fairytale.”

The fairytale never brought me what I was really wanting— what all of us really, truly long for— love. I’m not just saying the love of a man! I’m talking about a desire to know the deep, deep unconditional love and acceptance of my Heavenly Father, which far surpasses any earthly love. I am convinced that most Christians do not have heart knowledge of how much their Heavenly Father loves them. Oh yes, we can quote the Scriptures about love and we know in our heads that God is love, therefore He must love me. But to truly grasp His love for me personally, in my heart, is altogether something else. What we need is a revelation.

Instead of living like the princesses and princes that we are, we still live as what author Jack Frost calls “orphans”— as if we’re fatherless and lost in this world, not knowing in our hearts who we really are or that we have the most powerful and loving Daddy in all the universe who wants to take care of us. We are fearful and anxious and living in the shadow of rejection, untrusting and protective of ourselves. But our Father God sent Jesus to earth to reconcile us back to Him—to bring us home, to bring us back to His heart, which is a place of rest and security, intimacy, trust, and love. You see, God originally created the Garden of Eden— a place of life and abundance and intimacy and beauty— as home for His children. It was because of Adam and Eve’s sin that their Heavenly Father had to cast them out of the Garden of His presence. So, they became orphans— ashamed, insecure, and fearful. They were separated from God’s heart, separated from their home. And that orphan heart was passed-down through the generations to you and me.

However, Jesus bridged the gap between the Father and us by paying the price of our sins on the cross. We now have access to the Him and His garden, access to our home in His love. For Father God sent Jesus on a mission to bring us back to Him, the cross being the visible demonstration of His love for us. Read John 3:16 with new eyes, from the perspective of the Father: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (emphasis added). The whole reason Jesus came to earth was so we could come home to the place we were created for!

Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.” Think about what this verse is saying: before God created the universe, He loved you and me personally! Before time began, God chose you and He chose me! We have been adopted into our Father’s family— the family of the Creator of the Universe— and it gives Him great pleasure to bring us into His family! God does not merely tolerate us and bring us into His family because He feels like He ought to, but it gives Him great pleasure to do so! Wow… I hope this gets you excited…

These days, instead of trying to be a princess on the outside, I am learning to rest in my Father’s love and allow Him to create me into a princess on the inside. As I let go of the sequins dresses and other earthly possessions that I used to create my princess identity out of, I now look to my Father’s affections and allow Him to define my heart as a woman and child of God. I recall what Peter wrote: “…clothe yourselves with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious.” (1 Peter 3:4). Of course this is a process. But each day, as I grasp more and more fully my Father’s unquenchable love for me, I am able to let go of the counterfeit affections that have plagued me for so long.

To close, I challenge you to not be satisfied to go through your Christian walk without knowing our Father’s love for you personally, deep in your heart! Ask yourself, what are the earthly things that you are using to create your identity (give you security, etc.), outside of your Heavenly Father’s love for you? How are your actions reflective of an orphan’s heart, rather than the heart of a beloved child of God? Ask your Heavenly Father to reveal His Father’s heart for you, and keep pressing-in until you have revelation! I guarantee this revelation will change your life as it is changing mine.

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P.S. A couple of classic books on the subject are, “The Father Heart of God” by Floyd McClung and “Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship” by Jack Frost.

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