2009 – Day 189.July 9 – A Charming and Graceful Spirit

2009 – Day 189.July 9 – A Charming and Graceful Spirit

Passage of the Day: Esther 2: 15 – 17 … 15 Now when the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, 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. 16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

My Journal for Today: Swindoll this morning, for my devotional time, hones in on <u>verse 15b above, “And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her.” So, what was it that made this young Jewess stand out so brightly in the midst of a whole bevy of carefully selected beauties? You know that the King’s men had scoured the entire countryside and had gathered the best-of-the-best to bring before King Xerxes for this “Persian Idol” competition. And then the King’s court was given a full year to prepare all these ladies for the royal beauty show before the king. And with all this, Esther had some quality which shone like a full moon on a dark night. What was it?

Well, Swindoll says it was the quality of “winsomeness,” which he defines from Webster as “… being pleasant, delightful, attractive in a sweet, engaging way;” and I agree with that observation or speculation. Esther was special; and to me, it seems obvious that the Holy Spirit had descended upon this young lady, who had become exactly the right person needed by God to bring favor on God’s people who remained in Persia as a captive remnant of the Lord’s chosen ones. God plan for saving His people had been set in motion and Esther was the bright star who would lead them out of the darkness to follow God’s light.

Oh, my fellow believer, do you recognize the darkness of this world all around us? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or the Spirit-given gift of prophesy to see the pervasive evil in our world, does it? And here we are, Christians surrounded by darkness, with a charge from our Lord (in Matt. 5: 16) to “Let your light so shine that they [mankind] will see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.” Yes, my dear one, we need the winsomeness of an Esther to be the collective light of Christ’s church shining in the world to dispel the darkness which is enveloping the world. But how do we become that light which those who live in darkness can see and to which they will respond?

Well, therein lies the rub, doesn’t it? And to that I believe Christ addressed Himself to His disciples when he was quoted [in my oft quoted phrase from Luke 9: 23] to command His followers to “… deny yourself, take upon your cross daily, and follow Me.” And that’s exactly what Esther did in her time; and she drew the gaze of others to her like moths to the light in the night. So, I pray that we can become Esthers in our day, … winsome in the midst of worldliness, … so that we can do what our Savior has commanded and let others see Him shining His light into the darkness.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, I so desire to be like Esther and to shine Your light so that others may see You and not me. Amen