GIRLFRIENDS OF GOD (2)

TOPIC: GIRLFRIENDS OF GOD (2)
TEXT: ESTHER 2:1-18
MEMORY VERSE: “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.” – Proverbs 31:30

Beauty fades, never let your beauty be your captivity; the Bible preaches moderation, feed the man within and you will see your life ever shining. Having the presence of God, the glory of God over your life is far better than putting on expensive ornaments. Vashti lost her position, not because she was not beautiful, but due to pride; Esther came on board not just because of her outward appearance but of her inner beauty. Esther’s Hebrew name Hadassah, meant Myrtle. Hadas means myrtle tree. Hadassah means compassion. It could not have been easy for Esther to retain her sweet simplicity amid the corruptions of her time, but her Persian name means “a star,” as though she were a garden enclosed, encircled by the atmosphere of the divine purity and protection.

The Bible recorded that Esther was fair and beautiful (Est. 2:7), not because of her costume but of the glory and light of God upon her. Right before her appearance, she had obtained favour from the keeper of the women, her things for “purification” were given to her and she was kept in a preferred place. The king was not doing a beauty pageant; he was actually looking for a queen, somebody of his status. God is looking for his beloved and He is not looking for the ones who are fair and beautiful within, those who have kept themselves from the corruption of this world. The question is, “Can God recognizes you the way you dress?” How great is the influence of Christianity in raising our standards and pervading the world with a loftier morality!

Each maiden spent twelve months in seclusion, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women. If indeed the search for a queen was beauty pageant like that of today, this one was with a difference. For the maidens were not using costume for twelve months, they only have items for purification. Instead of you buying beauty costume, why can’t you ask the Heavens to customize you for His glory? It is only the glory of God that can make you beautiful. You may have different set of make ups but if you lack God’s glory, your beauty is nothing. Esther did not spend a night with the king before king Ahasuerus set up the crown on her, the glory and favour of God shown upon her, inner beauty showed up at the right time. What is the essence of beauty without knowledge? Beauty alone did not just bring Esther to the throne; attitude and knowledge of God brought her to limelight. How much of the Word of God do you have in your inside as a (wo)man? Beauty may bring someone into a position, but if such lack skills and knowledge, s/he will soon be disposed.

There are so many maidens who spent the night with the king but will never see him again; they become king’s concubine, fit for a night, but not for the throne. But Esther kept his identity; she had fed her inner beauty, and became a woman of courage who understood season and time. She had been with a mentor, who mentored her in the way of the Lord. Esther never disappointed the Heavens with her beauty, she received purification items like that of the wise men that visited Jesus, and not costume pack. If you want to be the bride at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, feed your inner beauty with the things of God and purify your soul for God to be used, then your glory will come up and God shall be your everlasting light.

Word Affirmation: "For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy [shalt] thou [be], and [it shall be] well with thee." - Psalms 128:2 (Don't just say it, mean it!)

“Beauty alone did not just bring Esther to the throne; attitude and knowledge of God brought her to limelight.”

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