Shake off your dust;
rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,
Daughter Zion, now a captive.
For this is what the Lord says:“You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be redeemed.”-Isaiah 52:2-3 (NIV)
I know so many amazing women who have been redeemed in beautiful ways.
I can find many of them in our church on Sunday mornings. My own seat is almost always on the front row, fourth seat from the left. Usually I can find my incredible friends quite easily, because church is a place of seat real estate, I guess. My friends Katie and Melissa, Mallary and Amelia, ErinDay and Simone, all have their usual perches. People are creatures of habit, and although some of us move around every so often, we all have our favorite “spots”.
Some of us chose these places we reside on Sunday, but many of us haven’t picked our seats- in church or in life.
Because of our role as pastors, because I married this fantastic man, my Sunday morning seat has been assigned to me by default in literal and figurative ways. (Spoiler alert: I do not always love my placement.)
A front row view is not always a challenging thing, but there are times I struggle under the weight of the responsibility we carry to lead a church deeper into the gospel. Placement and purpose usually come with a hefty price tag of hard work and sacrifice.
That’s when I would rather be placed in a shack on a lonely beach, a cabin high in the mountains, or even a nicely appointed hut in the jungle.
In truth, I am a hesitant pastor’s wife, a timorous leader, and a not-so-closet introvert. The back row and an early exit appeal in all sorts of ways.
But lately, when I seek His face, I see His dream of an army of women deeply in love with Jesus rising up to spread the gospel. I don’t want to miss my chance to be counted among them.
No pressure, women of the world, but God has our number and He’s planning to give us a call.
He has seen our Pinterest boards and Instagram likes. God knows the scriptures that touch our hearts and which cupcake recipe we will make for our coworker’s birthday.
He likes the photos we posted of our kids on the last day of school and the kind way we speak to our friends. God has woven His own love into the way we nurture the people around us and how we carry life within our bodies with bold sacrifice.
He has heard our prayers to be loved, and He understands our hopes that we can be more than employees or girlfriends or mothers or pretty-faces-to-look-at or whatever label we feel has been stamped on our lives.
His greatness is within our grasp every time we hold the gospel out to the world.
We are daughters of the King, prophetesses of truth, women with a mission and a calling and no small act of love goes unnoticed by the Author of our faith.
As we wait on Him to write our stories and sing His song of love over our lives, He is placing us all on the front row to see His awesome display of beauty and greatness.
Oh, yes, we are dwarfed and humbled sitting here. But for the submitted heart, the view is unobstructed.
Dance. Sing. Shout and clap and raise your hands in worship. Don’t move to the left or the right. Don’t long for the seat another has been given- envy is a nasty trap and we don’t have time for that nonsense right now.
God has enough seats for all of us, and there is not one that is better than any other. Mine has my name on it, and yours is just for you, hand-picked by God Himself.
We can change the world one cupcake, one hour of community service, one encouraging word, one donation, one smile, one text, and one more day at a time.
We have been redeemed without money, without the kinds of power the world says it will take to make everything whole again. He has used the precious blood of Jesus to adopt us and give us these seats, and He has breathed His Spirit of into our souls.
All that is left for us is to be free to be His, and to love the world the same way He has loved us.
Let’s not be afraid or discouraged. We were made for this.
beautiful words Carrie…………