The Forgotten Power That Rebuilds Cities

 Cities are loud.

They move fast, burn bright, and leave people dizzy, searching for something real to anchor them. In the noise of culture, comparison, and constant striving, we’ve forgotten something ancient, something essential…We’ve forgotten who we are.

Not in the self-help kind of way, not the motivational, “look in the mirror and say you’re enough” kind of message, but in the Kingdom kind of way, the covenant kind of way.

We live in cities filled with people performing for worth they already carry, striving for belonging they’ve already been offered, fighting for power they’ve been born into and that’s the tragedy, but also our opportunity.

Because the moment identity is restored, so is power.

Not power for control, ego, or domination but Kingdom power. The kind that breaks chains quietly, that heals without needing a spotlight, that speaks peace into rooms, families, nations. That brings order where there was chaos and meaning where there was noise.

In Rediscovering the Kingdom, Dr. Myles Munroe said, “You were not created to live under domination, you were created to have dominion.” That line shook something in me because dominion isn’t loud, it’s secure…It doesn’t strive but it reigns. And when you know who you are, you don’t beg to be used by God, you walk knowing you’ve already been sent.

But sent as who?

That’s where many of us stumble. We think we’re just believers trying to behave better but we’re ambassadors, sons and daughters . Not just saved, but sealed! Not just delivered, but commissioned! And the city doesn’t need more Christians pretending to have it together. The city needs sons and daughters walking like they know who their Father is.

That’s why identity is the true hope for cities.

Not better systems, not louder voices, not more impressive programs, Identity. Because when people remember who they are, they stop competing and start creating, they stop surviving and start building, they stop reacting and start reigning…from a posture of peace, not performance.

In The Covenant by James Garlow, he explains how ancient covenant practices involved exchanging names, garments, and weapons. When God makes covenant with us, He doesn’t just forgive us, He covers us, He gives us His name, His authority., His strength that changes how we walk through any city, whether it’s familiar or foreign, broken or beautiful. We don’t walk in as beggars, we walk in as those covered in covenant and when you walk into a space knowing you’re in covenant with the living God, nothing stays the same.

So no, I’m not waiting for a better city to show up. I’m becoming someone who carries heaven into it.

I believe the hope for, Bujumbura,Kigali, Nairobi, Lagos, Paris, or wherever I step foot is not in how loud we are, but in how deeply we live from who we are. Healed people heal cities, found people lead others home, secure people bring stability and Kingdom people bring the King’s presence with them.

When we remember who we are, cities remember what they’re meant to be.