THE STORY OF JESUS: Esther 2:12-18
“To complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women…” (Esther 2:12)
None of these girls had ever seen the king.
Invisible to them, this invisible king puts them through intense beauty treatments.
The goal is to make them as beautiful as possible… for the king.
Esther wins this external beauty context, and finds favor and approval with the king.
There is another King at work invisibly, putting us through intense beauty treatments.
But the goal is not fleeting external beauty, but the enduring beauty of character.
Our time here in this life is a time of preparation before we see the king.
If we submit to the king’s servant – the Spirit – He will transform us from the inside out.
He will bring out in us the beauty of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
But like Esther, we must submit, we must surrender to the treatments, and allow this beauty to come out.
Could it be that our trials are the treatments where God is working to produce beauty?
These are the places where things like love, joy, peace, patience, etc. can shine.
Yet so many Christians are more concerned with external beauty, strength, success, health.
We spend much time and money on looking good on the outside, with little thought to inner beauty.
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 3:3-4)
The king is developing Esther’s beauty, but God is developing her character and heart.
And it was her character, not her beauty, that saves the Jews in the end.
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, we worry so much about outward appearances, and neglect Your Spirit’s treatment of inner beauty. Forgive me for worrying more about the state of my clothing than the state of my heart.
Observations/Application
God uses the customs of the day His wonders to perform.
Esther asked for nothing when she went to the king. The king was attracted to her for the same reasons everyone else in the harem was attracted to her – not only was the beauty on the outside but also on the inside – and it is what is on the inside that counts. She had found favour with everyone and through God’s guiding hand, also with the king.
The beauty treatments – was part of the process – part of the daily ritual in order to meet the king. How do I dress myself each day to serve the King? I too need to prepare myself by dressing myself each day anew with the armour of the Gospel living the fruit of the Spirit and in that way always be ready to serve my King.
The fruit of the spirit is not a coconut
The fruit of the spirit is not a coconut
If you want to be a coconut, you might as well hear it; you can’t be a fruit of the spirit.
‘Cause the fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.