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November 5 – Who is your favorite male or female in the Bible? How have they influenced your life?
I remember being a little girl and hearing the story of Queen Esther. I was mesmerized by the biblical account of the orphan who grew up to be a courageous queen. My little heart longed to be like her, courageous and faithful.
As my life went on and my story held valleys and mountaintops, I clung even more to the brave queen.
Let me share with you who Esther was, why she is so important and valuable lessons we can learn from her.
God has the power to bring beauty from the ashes
Nothing is ever impossible with the God we serve. His hand can be traced through every chapter and every word. There is a constant thread of redemption woven through Esther’s story that speaks to our lives still today.
It’s easy to just focus on Esther being beautiful and the royal position of Queen being handed to her. And we roll our eyes and think “I’m certain her life was so hard”. But life wasn’t always easy for her. She was an orphan that suffered loss at a young age. Imagine this ya’ll, she was snatched away from her home, her family, her people and everything that was familiar to her and put in a new home in a high-pressure position. And expected to smile and succeed. Let’s be honest here, I’d be really angry if that happened to me. And even when gifted such a royal position there was still hard times. Her people were in danger and faced destruction. Can you even imagine how alone she must have felt?
Her life was filled with trial after trial, yet we see in every part of the story a hope woven through. And it’s truly the most powerful pieces of the entire book.
I find so much comfort in knowing God is always at work even when we can’t see the whole story. Even when things look crummy and hard and scary and uncertain. And that sets the stage for great things to happen, “…And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14.
God loves all of us extravagantly. And He’s not finished with a single one of us. The fact is, He has a sovereign plan that is for good and not evil. For joy and not sorrow. He is writing a story of on-going redemption with each of our lives. Our lives are woven together through seasons. It’s one person’s season to experience this. And another person’s season to experience that. Neither is loved more. Neither is more dispensable.
Throughout this entire journey I’ve been reminded time and time again of God’s extravagant love for me. In the darkest places, I found Him there with me. Speaking to my heart. Speaking life into the hurt places. I’ve learned what it’s like to seek and find Him. I’ve thrown myself at His feet in a teary heap. I’ve learned that even in the hard times, He gives us enormous blessings, blessings that are much greater than any of my troubles. His goodness always shines through!
God uses ordinary people
When Esther was born, Israel was in captivity because of their disobedience to God. When she was a child her parents were killed and her cousin Mordecai adopted her as his daughter. Another thing my girl Esther and I have in common, we were both adopted. And perhaps another reason I clung to this story as a child. Esther was also Jewish. She was part of a minority race held in low esteem at that time. So much so that when she was chosen as Queen, Mordecai advised her to keep her Jewish nationality a secret.
On a plain ole’ ordinary day God chose Esther to do through her what He had planned before she was even born.
I can remember thinking if God used an ordinary adopted girl like Esther, I bet He has a plan for my life too!
Undoubtedly Esthers story has a purpose in the Bible. It was written so that we could learn from her example and also to show us how He works in the lives of ordinary people.
I once saw a quote that really resonated with me.
God uses small, ordinary people to change the world every day. That’s the only kind there are, the only kind there every will be. Only He is big and extraordinary.
Always choose humility over pride
In Esther 2:7 we find that she was a beautiful woman with a beautiful figure. Along with all of the other lovely virgins, she stood out and won Hegai’s favor. Because of that she was given 12 months special food, pampering and treatments to enhance her beauty. Can you even imagine being pampered every single day for a year?
And let’s be honest here, can you even imagine that amount of cattiness that would have been happening in the harem of virgins waiting for their one night with the king? But not with our Esther girl. She had a humbleness that shined brightly. While I would guess the other virgins were full of pride and catty jealously, she remained humble.
When a virgin was summoned by the king, she was allowed to bring with her whatever she thought would make her the most attractive to him. But when Esther was called upon she only took with her the things Hegai advised. With that she won the kings favor and approval. So much so that he sat a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti!
Don’t allow your circumstances to make you bitter or angry
I know, easier said than done right?
I cannot even begin to imagine the pain Esther had to endure in her childhood. Her parents were killed in a turbulent time where many Jewish children were becoming orphans. But rather than rebelling or becoming resentful over her difficult life, the Bible tells us she was obedient to Mordecai.
When you grow up in painful circumstances, it’s easy to fall into the trap of questioning God’s goodness. But Esther’s heart was tender and her spirit was kind.
And let’s think on this for a moment. Esther was chosen for the King’s beauty contest, she had absolutely no choice in the matter. And in the process she would not only lose her virginity but also become his property, whether he chose her for his wife or not. She would never be allowed to return to her home or her life with Mordecai.
How easy it would be to turn bitter and angry in that situation. Being taken away from my adoptive parents, away from my home and everything I knew, and give to some man to do with as he pleases. Y’all. I just can’t even fathom it.
Esther had literally no control over her future. But she trusted God and His plan.
I know in my own life I’ve came up against certain situations that I knew I had a choice to make, be angry or choose joy. And that, my friends, is hard at times. With my adoption, I’m so blessed to have never felt an ounce of resentment or bitterness. I understood from an early age that it was just right and that it was God’s plan. My adoptive parents, my entire adoptive family, made sure to tell me time and time again how God hand-picked me to be a part of that family! But so many times I’ve watched other adopted people struggle with feelings of rejection, abandonment and disappointment. I’m not saying their feelings are invalid, not at all. But that is an example when we need to lean into Jesus and choose whether to be bitter or allow it to help us grow.
There are these and so many more lessons we can learn from Queen Esther. And I just may feel a future Bible study stirring in my heart!
