Thursday, March 6, 2008

Queen for Eternity....

"... You'll be a stunning crown in the palm of God's hand, a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God. No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You'll be called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land Beulah (Married), Because God delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration. For as a young man marries his virgin bride, so your builder marries you, And as a bridegroom is happy in his bride, so your God is happy with you." Isaiah 62:1bc (MSG) As most little girls do, I dreamt of my wedding day for as long as I can remember. There were many a day that I would hang a towel on my head to simulate a veil, put on some type of lacy dress up item over my clothes and find a pair of my mother's high heels. Once I was properly dressed, I would practice the wedding march around my room in front of my adoring family of stuffed animals and Barbie dolls. As I grew older, the pretending and dressing up went away but the desire to be a bride never left the back of my mind. Not to say that I was eager to get married, I just wanted to have a wedding and be a bride -- "queen for a day." I didn't understand the importance of the act, I just wanted to look the part and be the center of attention. Many, many years later, I got engaged in a fairy tale location (outside the castle in Germany that Walt Disney modeled Cinderella's castle after). Then that's when the wheels went into motion. I began to plan everything down to the color of the table cloths. But the part that I spent the most time on was MY dress and what I would look like that day. Not to sound vane, but I wanted to look the best I had ever looked in my life for my soon-to-be hubby/prince charming. I finally found my dress and I was so excited that after it finally came in, I think I tried it on almost every day and just walked around my house feeling ever so much like a princess. I think the dress made me stand a little taller, act better, strive to eat better, treat it with caution so as not to damage or stain it, etc. I liken this experience to our walk with Christ. It says in Revelation 19:7 (NIV) "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." If we spend our time gifted to us on this Earth eagerly preparing and primping for Christ, our Bridegroom, we too would be a little more bold in respect to our faith, treat others with more regard than ourselves, guard our words/thoughts/actions to keep our minds and bodies free of sin, etc. We should be rejoicing and pacing around looking skyward for our "Prince" to come. At the same time, we shouldn't take our eyes off the preparation that still needs to be done on this Earth, such as bringing the lost to Christ. I bet He wants nothing more than "standing room only" on OUR wedding day. I'm excited and anxious for Him to come. I find myself trying on my "dress" on a more regular basis as I grow closer to Him. You never know, I may just keep it on because He could be coming "in the blink of an eye." I don't want Him to miss my approach to the altar in my best attire. You can dress up too!! We can wait together....... Dear Lord - thank you for Earthly times that you give me to allow me to glimpse a bit of things to come. I thank you for calling me royalty and letting me be a princess. I pray that I can help get the WORD out to the ends of the Earth and I can see my Bridegroom soon. Anxiously waiting - AMEN Application:

  • Can you think of a time that you were excited and anxious about an upcoming event? How did you prepare? Can you relate that feeling to what it may be like with the coming of Christ?
  • Do you act differently when you are dressed up? This time on the Earth is dress-rehearsal for the coming of Christ and our triumphant entry into our eternal life.
  • Pray that God allows you to touch others' lives by living yours out as a Bride expectantly waiting her Bridegroom's arrival.

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