Divine Favor
Esther 2:15 Now when the turn came for Esther… to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king's eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her.
Esther 7:3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king….”
Esther 8:4-5 And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king, and said, "If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes….”
The Lord has been speaking to me over the past couple of weeks through the book of Esther about the vital importance of divine favor in fulfilling my destiny. You probably know the story of Esther. She was an orphan, raised by her uncle, Mordecai, in a foreign land. When the queen of that land defied her husband, he decided to find a replacement. So, he had all the young virgins brought to his harem and chose Esther as his queen. Ultimately, God used her in that position to save her people from total annihilation.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be an Esther—a woman raised up from the bottom of the barrel to a position of great influence, used by God to save thousands of lives and change the course of history. Looking at Esther’s story from the perspective of fulfilling my destiny, I had to ask myself why God chose her. Here’s what He showed me.
First of all, Esther was obedient. She didn’t ask to be taken from her home and added to the king’s harem, but she submitted herself to her uncle’s will, leaving everything that was comfortable and familiar to please him. Even after she became queen, she again submitted to her uncle’s will at the risk of her own life. That’s what the Lord wants from me—the willingness to let go of everything else to please Him.
Second, when Esther first went before the king, she requested nothing. Looking at this from a spiritual perspective, how often do I come before God requesting nothing, just for the joy of being in His presence? That is very convicting, because I have one teenager (18) who only calls me when he wants something from me, and it can be very annoying!
And finally, every time Esther came before the king, her primary purpose was to please the king. And guess what? Because SHE wanted to please HIM, HE wanted to please HER.
So, for the past couple of weeks I have really focused on spending time with the Lord without asking Him for anything, except to be found pleasing in His sight. At those times, I have felt His presence on me in a very powerful way.
And I have noticed something kind of funny. Ever since I started doing that, people have been treating me with special favor. People who normally don’t even talk to me at work have gone out of their way to say hello and tell me what a good job I’m doing.
Every Monday night, I attend a Bible class of about 500 students, taught by a famous evangelist (yes, you’ve seen him on TV). As my friends and I were walking to our cars after class this week, we passed his car in the parking lot and he said, “Have a good evening, ladies.” I didn’t realize it was him and just kept talking without even glancing his way. Then he started driving after us, stopped in the middle of the road, rolled down his window, and called us over to his car to shake hands with us.
A friend I helped a couple of years ago is coming to town tomorrow to buy me a mobile home with cash, so all I have to pay is the space rent.
Another friend felt led by the Lord to write a letter on my behalf to a very well-known and wealthy Bible teacher asking him to give me a million dollars (seriously!) to kick off my ministry of providing housing and job training for single women with children.
So… the moral of the story is, when we seek God’s favor through obedience and a desire to please Him more than anything else, we get favor with men as well, and God uses that favor to promote us into or divine destiny.
Cathleen
Esther 7:3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king….”
Esther 8:4-5 And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king, and said, "If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes….”
The Lord has been speaking to me over the past couple of weeks through the book of Esther about the vital importance of divine favor in fulfilling my destiny. You probably know the story of Esther. She was an orphan, raised by her uncle, Mordecai, in a foreign land. When the queen of that land defied her husband, he decided to find a replacement. So, he had all the young virgins brought to his harem and chose Esther as his queen. Ultimately, God used her in that position to save her people from total annihilation.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be an Esther—a woman raised up from the bottom of the barrel to a position of great influence, used by God to save thousands of lives and change the course of history. Looking at Esther’s story from the perspective of fulfilling my destiny, I had to ask myself why God chose her. Here’s what He showed me.
First of all, Esther was obedient. She didn’t ask to be taken from her home and added to the king’s harem, but she submitted herself to her uncle’s will, leaving everything that was comfortable and familiar to please him. Even after she became queen, she again submitted to her uncle’s will at the risk of her own life. That’s what the Lord wants from me—the willingness to let go of everything else to please Him.
Second, when Esther first went before the king, she requested nothing. Looking at this from a spiritual perspective, how often do I come before God requesting nothing, just for the joy of being in His presence? That is very convicting, because I have one teenager (18) who only calls me when he wants something from me, and it can be very annoying!
And finally, every time Esther came before the king, her primary purpose was to please the king. And guess what? Because SHE wanted to please HIM, HE wanted to please HER.
So, for the past couple of weeks I have really focused on spending time with the Lord without asking Him for anything, except to be found pleasing in His sight. At those times, I have felt His presence on me in a very powerful way.
And I have noticed something kind of funny. Ever since I started doing that, people have been treating me with special favor. People who normally don’t even talk to me at work have gone out of their way to say hello and tell me what a good job I’m doing.
Every Monday night, I attend a Bible class of about 500 students, taught by a famous evangelist (yes, you’ve seen him on TV). As my friends and I were walking to our cars after class this week, we passed his car in the parking lot and he said, “Have a good evening, ladies.” I didn’t realize it was him and just kept talking without even glancing his way. Then he started driving after us, stopped in the middle of the road, rolled down his window, and called us over to his car to shake hands with us.
A friend I helped a couple of years ago is coming to town tomorrow to buy me a mobile home with cash, so all I have to pay is the space rent.
Another friend felt led by the Lord to write a letter on my behalf to a very well-known and wealthy Bible teacher asking him to give me a million dollars (seriously!) to kick off my ministry of providing housing and job training for single women with children.
So… the moral of the story is, when we seek God’s favor through obedience and a desire to please Him more than anything else, we get favor with men as well, and God uses that favor to promote us into or divine destiny.
Cathleen
posted by BreadBakers at 11:58 AM
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