Swaziland is the last functioning monarchy in Africa and for the second month of the World Race, my team is working with an Adventures in Missions (AIM) base in Nsoko, Swaziland. It is extremely beautiful here and when we entered the country the workers at the border greeted us by saying, “welcome to the kingdom.”
God has been teaching me a lot about His kingdom and the parallels between the way the Kingdom of God functions and the way kingdoms work on earth. God carries the name King of Kings, and just like on the earth, the children of the King are considered royalty. Because of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection we have been given a new identity. This identity rests on our status as children of God, co-heirs with Christ or, in other words, the sons and daughters of the King. Since we are sons and daughters of the King, we are the princes and princesses of the kingdom.
This beautiful imagery has been shaping my heart as God reconstructs my personal identity in Him this year. Specifically, God has shared with me that my identity is as his daughter. He has called me His “princess.” This has been spoken and prayed over me by various individuals and God even gave two beautiful women on my squad a vision of me on a throne adorned in beautiful jewels and a crown. All these things have been little ways that God has spoken this identity to me.
On our first day of ministry in Swaziland we went to this thing called “care point ministry.” AIM has partnered with some Swazis to have a handful of locations that provide a place for OVCs (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) to receive food prepared by women from within that community. These sites are called care points and after school the students also receive Bible teaching and have a youth group type gathering.
At this care point ministry after the teaching I met a young girl who introduced herself as “Happy,” she went on to explain that she had received an English name from a visitor in the past. She was curious about me and wanted to know the meaning of my name so she could remember me better as well as understand more about me. I explained that Drianna didn’t really have a significant meaning so she asked if she could give me one. I obliged and waited for what she would give me as a new name. She pondered it for a minute or two with a grin on her face explaining that she didn’t know me very well but she confidently chose the name “Princess.”
I was a little taken aback by this because I hadn’t explained that God was already teaching me this, but I later realized that God had put that on her heart to once again show me how sovereign He is in my life. A stranger had given me the same name in English that God had been speaking to me over the last month! God really wants me to understand that I am His daughter, His Princess and He wants me to embrace that identity and live in the authority that comes along with it.
