Welcome back for part 3 of this series. I hope it has been enlightening to you to read about this kind of woman, and oh how beautiful she truly is to the Father. Back to the book we go. Let’s pick up where we left off:
Then there’s the flipside to this identity as a child of God. Not only is she righteous, royal, and regal—knowing her identity as Yahweh’s child—she’s also raw and real.
There’s an interesting dichotomy to that. It’s not too often you connect the words royal and regal with raw and real. Typically, royalty comes with a sense of distance and self-preservation, not authenticity and vulnerability. People don’t think of the Queen of England as “raw and real.” But that’s what separates a Daughter of the King from the rest of the world. Not only does she know who she is and whose she is; she also isn’t ashamed of any part of herself. She doesn’t need to hide or put on a mask because she’s ashamed of what’s underneath the surface. A Daughter of the King isn’t worried about the external, about what other people think. She walks with finesse and grace, confident enough in the internal to be authentic and vulnerable, to be fully raw and real.
When I was a kid—I don’t remember this, but my mom told me later—I used to change clothes all the time. Two or three times a day (at least), I’d dig through my little wardrobe—because we lived in an old farmhouse, we didn’t have closets—and pick out a new outfit. My life was so focused on the external, on trying to earn other people’s validation through how I looked. If people approved of the outside of my life, I thought, maybe everything on the inside was all right.
I looked pretty on the outside, but inside, I wasn’t that great. The external earned priority over the internal, and as a result, the internal suffered. Most of the emotions I internalized growing up were negative—fear, disappointment, shame, even embarrassment. Because I couldn’t handle all the emotions at once, living in a house of five, I learned to tune out or turn them off. That was my coping mechanism (as I learned later, this is called “disassociation”). I ran from my feelings. It didn’t feel safe to sit with them. For thirty-seven years, I never understood how much shame I carried in my body. I just stuffed it all down and projected an image of myself to the world that made it look like I had it all together. I stopped taking risks. I stopped being my authentic self. I couldn’t afford it. What if people discovered who I really was?
But God was still there. He was present with me and my parents the whole time. Even though I couldn’t see Him—even though I focused on the outside-in instead of the inside-out—the Father still worked in my life. I didn’t smoke or drink, but, as I realized later, I didn’t do it for Jesus—I just didn’t want to get fat or have wrinkles! But God still used it to protect me! Yahweh meets us where we are. He works with what He’s got. More than that, He never stops pursuing us.
The Father of Light wasn’t done with me. My shame and external projections didn’t keep the Holy Spirit from invading my life. Jesus found me, and He gave me a new identity.
There is no place for shame within our story as God’s children. Yahweh created you. He’s the only One who fully knows you, yet still, He’s the only One who truly, fully loves you. When we’re raw and real, we not only uncover the righteous, royal, and regal children of God that we are; we also allow God to fully step into our lives and bring to light our true identities. This allows us to walk out of external, performance-based living and into His life- giving, transformational, grace-filled freedom. When we give Jesus our full selves—past shame and all—we allow Him to, as Brooke Ligertwood of Hillsong Worship put it, make “new wine” out of us:
Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothingBut all You have given me
Jesus bring new wine out of me
So, child of God, be regal, royal, and righteous. It’s who you are. You carry the weight of His glory dust. And be raw and real. It’s worth it. The Creator has a tender, healing hand—no matter what He reveals about your past. It hurts only for a moment.
Run wild and free, My child. Be who I created you to be. And when you call out to Me, I’ll be right there. For your Heavenly Father is everywhere. You belong to Me, My child. You belong to Me.
I don't really want to write anything else, for this part of the chapter is a little heavier and introspective. I want to create some space for you to spend time with the Lord.
There are two songs that come to mind, for these melodies inspired some of these words here today. I am going to link both of them and ask you to spend some time with the Lord.
New Wine - Hillsong Worship
Justin Bieber - Where Do I Fit In (feat. Tori Kelly, Chandler Moore, Judah Smith)
Once that time feels complete, pray this prayer below to close out your time with Him.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, I desire to be regal, royal, righteous, raw and real. Thank you for creating me to walk in your true identity. Shame you have no hold on me for I am free. Amen.
Until next time,
Keep Believing
Keep Braving
Keep Beaming
❤️