Where were you when you heard the news about Queen Elizabeth II?
- Sitting in your cubicle?
- Standing in the Starbucks line?
- Eating lunch in your classroom?
- At the playground with your kids?
Maybe you looked down and saw the news notification. Maybe you heard the words when a friend read them aloud: “Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”
In a previous decade, if you’d been watching TV the moment the news broke, the screen would have cut to static as the program transitioned to a news briefing. The anchor would have straightened his tie, saying: “We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this breaking news.” And you would have remembered where you were, and who you were with. That news would have been imprinted on the ordinary details of that moment—one you'd never forget.
The news of the Queen's passing was a marker on the timeline of history experienced in our lifetime, but it wasn't personal. It didn't shift the trajectory of your story. But I hope another royal announcement has.
A Royal Declaration
We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog programming with this special announcement: Heaven rules.For the last few days, women from across the world have gathered in Indianapolis and in groups and online—not because a monarch died. But because King Jesus lives.
Our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns! —Rev. 19:6 CSB
His kingdom will have no end. —Luke 1:33 CSB
In the hallways of the Indiana Convention Center, purple banners have been hanging along the walls, declaring the reign of King Jesus. When these banners left Revive Our Hearts' headquarters in Michigan, they were blank, with only the words, "Heaven Rules—I believe it!" printed at the top. Throughout the course of the conference, as women have passed by the sign, they have signed their name to affirm Christ's sovereignty over their circumstances.
If you were to stop in front of the banner to read some of the declarations women have written this weekend, here's what you would see:
- Heaven rules over my unsaved friends.
- Heaven rules over my husband's salvation.
- Heaven rules over my toxic household.
- Heaven rules over my prodigal child.
- Heaven rules over my dying sister.
- Heaven rules over my singleness.
- Heaven rules over my suffering.
- Heaven rules over my finances.
- Heaven rules over my fears.
- Heaven rules over my future.
What would you have written? You may not have had an opportunity to grab a Sharpie and mark the banner, but where has God etched those two words in permanent ink on your heart?
As True Woman ’22 ends, as you turn off the livestream and return to your routine, you may not hear the royal declaration of Heaven's rule ringing as loudly in your ears. The circumstances you long to see victory in may feel more hopeless than ever before. Take heart.
In her final message of True Woman ’22, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth described situations where it seemed as though there was no possible way victory could come, dark moments in which the Devil yelled, "Checkmate!" over the devastation he caused. In every one of those seemingly hopeless scenarios, the King still had one more move.
Jesus will always have one more move, and one day, Revelation 19:11–21 will be fulfilled. The Lamb will overcome (Rev. 12:11), and the King of Kings will reign forever.
In the final minutes of her message, Nancy said:
We're still in the battle, but don't forget that the outcome has been determined . . .
Don’t give in to discouragement or fear, or panic. The devil can defeat saints with God’s permission for a time, but he can't overcome the Lamb. So take heart. Christ has overcome. and He will give you grace to endure all the way to the end.
Today, if you believe those words, join the mighty chorus and worship the Lamb:
The King is alive, and Heaven rules.
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