Obtaining favour like Esther

It’s time for us to learn the power of submission and humility. We need to humble ourselves and cease all our self-promoting efforts…

When you know you are greatly blessed, highly favoured and deeply loved, you don’t have to depend on your own efforts to make it in life; God will fight your battles.
Keep in mind, however, that there is a certain pedigree of submission and humility that must be upheld by those who seek to walk in such victories.
In the last edition of the Contact, I wrote about David, the shepherd boy, made warrior and King, sharing with you how he walked in this way of living. Throughout his lifetime, this great king was an example of both submission and humility before God.
Dear readers, I strongly encourage you to read the Bible and spend some time to reading about the lives of the men and women within its pages.
Today, I will share with you another who gained favour through victories and prestige because of her humility and submission before both God and man. This story can be found in the book of Esther.
To give you some context and background, when King Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes, ruler of the Persian empire, was looking for a beautiful woman to become his new queen, Esther was one of the candidates among many brought to the palace.
All the women were given the same opportunity to adorn themselves and prepare for their encounter with the king.
While the other women grabbed the best garments, the nicest smelling perfumes and the most dazzling accessories to beautify themselves, Esther did not rely on her own sense of fashion and dress; she submitted herself to Hegai.
The book of Esther 2:15 tells us that when the turn drew near for Esther to go to the king, she did not ask anything except what Hegai, the eunuch of the king, who was in charge of the women, advised… Every decision she made was filled with wisdom and humility; she never trusted her own efforts.
She had a great assignment in the palace and she quickly realized that it would not be accomplished only by her own strength and knowledge.
Esther requested nothing but the help from her assigned chambermaid. She was very humble and submissive from the time she entered the palace.
The Bible says that she carried favor in the eyes of everyone that saw her. It is also written in verse 17 of chapter 2 that the king preferred Esther more than all the women, and she won his favor and loyalty more than all the virgins, so he put a royal crown on her head and made her queen. It was her submission and her humility that caused her to be highly exalted above all the other beautiful women.
She was not ignorant about palace protocol and became a woman of influence in the kingdom because of her humility. She chose to submit to God and as a result obtained the King’s royal scepter. Her humility caused her to become very important to the king and even to the Jewish people whose genocide plot she stopped; giving her people a chance to live.
God resists the proud and gives unmerited favour to the humble. It’s time for us to learn the power of submission and humility. We need to humble ourselves and cease all our self-promoting efforts.
Learn to depend on the Lord to bring you promotion and increase. In doing so, like Queen Esther, you will stand out in a crowd and obtain grace and favor with God and man.
Some of you are going to witch doctors and occultic men looking for favour; please learn to wait on the Lord to promote you, to give you divine favour and put you on a great seat to influence others.
Queen Esther was placed in a favoured position in order to protect all the Jewish people in the kingdom from being killed.
You see, when the Lord promotes you and favours you, he gives you influence to be a blessing to the people around you. God’s favor on your life is not just for your own benefit but for a purpose greater than yourself.
It’s not a coincidence that you are reading this article today. The Lord wants to favour you and bless you to be a blessing to your family, your society and to your people.
1 Peter 5:5 – All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.