Seated and Secured: A Rooted Identity, a 5-Day Plan by Brittany TurnerSample

Promise #2-I am SEATED

The summer before my seventh-grade year, my parents purchased our first family home. In a new city, I boarded the bus for middle school orientation, hoping to make friends, but instead found myself in the middle of a pack of preteens already solidly connected since elementary school. There was no room for me, and they made sure I knew it.

The cool kids would sit at the back of the bus, playing games while filling the air with the ringing sounds of their laughter and lively discussions. By week two, the games morphed into a round of “Survivor,” where I and one other unfortunate soul were banished to the front of the bus, forbidden from joining the others.

Ah, teenage years.

For most of my middle school years, and quite a few in high school, too, I sat on the outside of the popular circles, longing to be accepted. Don’t get me wrong. I found some friends and made some amazing memories, but deep inside, still I felt like an outsider.

Can you relate?

Maybe it wasn’t in high school, but even as I moved into adulthood, I encountered plenty of bullies and cliques in the “real world” too–at work, in an attempt to make new friends, and even within the church. Within each of us is a deep desire to be wanted and to belong.

Beloved, Christ gives us just that.

God took us as we were, sinners, stuck in our sin, and sent his Son to die for our eternal freedom. And if that wasn’t enough, out of the riches of His love, He picked us up and placed us at His right side and gave us a seat of honor.

Imagine a King combing the streets of his kingdom for the lowest citizen, but instead of only offering help, he chooses to adopt and exalt them to a permanent position of honor as a son.

Mind-blowing right? Undeserving and unmerited, as believers, we are one with Christ, and we get to abide with Him in His seat. Through Christ, we abide permanently with our Father in heaven.

Friend, you weren’t just given a seat at the table–you were given a throne. You have been raised up to heavenly places with your Savior.

Scripture tells us that Christ is currently seated at the right hand of the Father. (Heb.1:3,12:2; 1 Pet 3:22; Acts 7:55-56, Psalm 110)

God the Father, who sits on His throne (Isa 6), has placed His Son in the position of power right beside Him and, by His grace, placed us with Him.

In the miracle of the cross, we have not just received salvation but a new divine position. We, too, are considered royalty and heirs to the throne of grace. Regardless of where you have tried to fit in down here, you have a place where you will always belong.

We are no longer fighting for a seat, space, or even respect. We already have it—a mark of just how treasured we are by our Father!

So come on in. Come to Him and accept your place.

We must remember and remain anchored in our position in Him. From our royal position, we are commissioned as ambassadors of His love and grace to those around us. It is only by remaining in Him that we can do anything, and as His children, we have indeed been set apart with specific work to do.

When we believe we have been saved and given a divine position, we live our lives differently. We live from the flow of His abundance and grace, eager to extend His love and compassion to others.

So, friends, take your secure seat in His presence, and embrace life and your purpose like the royalty that you are.

Affirmation: I am a member of heaven’s royal family. I am a co-heir with Christ and seated with Him in heaven. I have been saved by grace to serve as an ambassador of His love and grace to those around me.

Question: How can your divine position shift your view of where you belong? How does knowing you are already seated and secure with Him impact the work you set out to do?