During a tough year that our family was going through, the Lord gave me a vision to help strengthen and support me. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:2, I'm not sure if I was in my body or out of my body when I had this vision. I know that my spirit was caught up into heaven, whether or not my body was, I can't say for sure.
One Sunday morning I was listening to a sermon and talking with the Lord while I listened. Suddenly I was taken into heaven. I was standing on the left side of the throne of God and seeing myself through someone else's eyes. Or perhaps it was me standing there in my body, that I'm not sure. As I stood there, I saw myself standing before the throne of God.
I was clothed in the most beautiful golden-white gown that shimmered when I moved. I stood on a pure gold floor, and everything around me, the walls, the ceiling, the throne, was made of solid gold. But what caught my eye the most as I watched myself, was the crown that was fixed atop my head. It was solid gold, and it looked heavy. I could tell it had a significant weight to it, and I wondered how I held my head up while wearing this incredibly weighty crown.
I was given some time to watch myself, because I believe the Lord wanted me to truly see what we look like as believers in Christ Jesus. We are crowned! We are crowned with righteousness! Whenever we come to the throne of God, we come crowned in glory. We're not paupers off the streets in His presence, we're righteously and beautifully dressed!
As I stood there on the left side of the throne watching myself speak to the King, suddenly I was put into my own body before the throne, and I was looking up at my Lord. In that moment, several things became apparent to me. One, the crown that appeared so heavy I didn't know how I could hold my head up, I realized I couldn't feel it. While it looked like it weighed 50 pounds, I couldn't feel it's weight at all. Two, nothing in this body was uncomfortable. I was completely whole. No aches, no pains. And the floor which should have felt hard beneath my feet, I couldn't feel it. And the dress that I should have felt against my body, was weightless. I felt no discomfort in this place! Three, I could see the Lord God Almighty! Sort of.
As I gazed upon the throne, the Lord was shrouded in light. And while I couldn't make Him out exactly, I had a strong sense in my spirit that He had a form, and it was like that of mankind. He shifted when I spoke, and leaned in when I prayed. He desired to hear from me. He was delighted I was in His presence!
And just like He showed me this vision to encourage me to keep going even though it was tough, I am sharing it with you to encourage you that our Heavenly Father sees you in this way. He delights in your presence. He loves it when you come to His throne. He wants to hear from you. He loves you! He loves it when you come and speak with Him!
"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16
But another beautiful truth that He sank deep into my heart was this: we are crowned. We're not waiting until we get to heaven to be crowned (although the scriptures are clear, crowns will be handed out!) He sees us crowned right now. He sees us arrayed in beautiful finery, crowned with His glory. And why would we not be? After all, if we have received Jesus as our wonderful Savior, then the Bible says that we have been justified by faith and made completely righteous because of His perfect blood sacrifice for us! (Romans 5:1-18, 2 Corinthians 5:21)
In the book of Esther we meet a man named Mordecai who was put in a precarious situation. Whenever Mordecai's name is mentioned in Esther, he's most often sitting within the king's gate. It's very likely that he had an official position of business located within the gates. (Esther 2:19) I think there is a wonderful inference we can take from these scriptures about Mordecai and it's this: wherever God has placed you today, walk it out with diligence and honor.
Mordecai had a position that was within the king's gate- we don't know from scriptures if he loved his position, what he even did in his position, but we do know that he was placed at the right place, at the right time, to hear very specific things that would change the course of his people.
Because of Mordecai's position, he happened to know when the king wanted to select a virgin from among the people to become the new queen, and he submitted Esther to be a virgin contestant (so to speak). Because of Mordecai's position, he happened to overhear of two eunuchs wanting to overthrow King Ahasuerus (Esther 2:19-23). Because of his position, he happened to learn of Haman's desire to kill the Jews. (Esther 4:1) And because of his conviction and beliefs, he went to the queen and advised her on how to do the right thing to save the Jewish population living in Persia.
The lesson we can learn from him is this, God has us in the place we currently are in for His divine purposes. It might not feel lofty, Mordecai wasn't a king and it was his little cousin who was queen. It might not feel prestigious, he had to watch Haman parade around with a title making people bow down to him. But he was strategically positioned by God to do God's work.
No matter where you are right now, it's exactly where you're supposed to be. Even if it doesn't feel like it. God has strategically placed you for His divine purpose, and He will move you around to where He desires you to be. It just might require some patience on our part if we're waiting on the Lord to bring us to the promised land He has shown us!
When Esther reveals to the king the heinous acts that Haman is desiring to do to annihilate the Jews, he has Haman hanged on the very gallows he created for Mordecai to swing from. That's poetic justice my friends. And in Esther 8:15, Mordecai leaves the presence of the king dressed in royal apparel, with a great crown of gold, and a garment of fine linen.
This, this is how God sees you when you come into His presence. You are dressed in fine linen of royal colors. You are crowned with a great crown of gold. You have right standing before the throne of God because of Jesus Christ!
Esther was afraid to enter into the king's presence because she could have been killed for it (Esther 4:11). But you and I, we don't have that fear! Once upon a time only the priest could enter the Holy of Holies on one day of the year. But today, we have the ability and the right to stand before the Lord whenever we want to, wherever we are located, and however we need to come. Come crying. Come laughing. Come singing. Come dancing!
And when you come into His presence, know that you are royally dressed, with a crown atop your head, standing on a floor of solid gold, and the King delights in you being there.
In the very final chapter of Esther, which only contains 3 verses, we see that Mordecai is placed second in command to King Ahasuerus. He's given incredible authority over the kingdom of Persia, and all because he subjected himself to where the Lord had him and remained humble in the position God had placed him in.
I don't know about you, but I would say 80% of any anger and frustration I take to the Lord has to do with where He has me right now. I'm currently walking in many blessings He has given me, and some incredible things He's promised me I have. And yet, and yet, I can find myself disgruntled by the future promises He has yet to bestow on me. Why are we so like that?
I believe (and have learned from His hand) that the reason we spend such a significant time waiting for promises is because our flesh rises up and becomes impatient with His timing. We just hate to wait.
There's varying reports as to the actual age of Mordecai when Esther becomes queen, but it's likely he was somewhere between the age of 60-90. That means that he was given a position by the Lord and diligently worked it for many, many years before he was elevated by Him to a great position in the kingdom. My friend, it works out in our favor to patiently wait on God's timing.
And while we wait, know that when you come into the presence of the King you are crowned. Just as the crown appeared to have weight to it in my vision, so too does your presence carry the weight of heaven, even though you can't feel it. You can't feel it, but you are heaven's heavy weight! Wherever God has you right now, you are heaven's glory walking around on earth, positioned exactly where He desires you to be.
We know from scripture that there are 5 crowns awaiting us in heaven. We know that one day, Jesus will hand out crowns to us. 2 Timothy 4:8 says we will receive the crown of righteousness. 1 Corinthians 9:25 says we will receive an incorruptible crown. Revelation 2:10 declares we will be given the crown of life. 1 Thessalonians 2:19 speaks of the crown of rejoicing. And finally, 1 Peter 5:4 talks of the crown of glory.
I don't know if we as believers will receive all of these, one of these, or a few of these crowns. But I do know this, the Lord showed me that when we come into His presence and pray, He already sees us crowned. Whatever title comes with that crown, I don't know! Only He knows.
We can walk tall knowing heaven's glory is on our head. We can stand in our current position knowing the Lord has clothed us in royal finery. We can hold our head high, despite our circumstances, because the Lord is for us.
Mordecai didn't shrink in the face of danger, he faced it. Don't be overwhelmed when trials come, they are meant to. They strengthen us and turn us into true heavyweights for heaven's glory. Stand in grace, rejoice in hope, give glory in your tribulations. Just as the Lord turned the tables on Mordecai's enemies, so too will He do the same for you. You are crowned. Walk like it.
With joy always,
Jessica
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