One Night with the King

     This week while in bible study I learned about a movie titled, "One Night with the King". This movie is based on the story Esther and the process that she went through in fulfilling her destiny of being Queen of Persia. I encourage you to watch this film; it definitely enlightened and inspired me and this post. Esther was a Jewish orphan whose real name was Hadassah. She was advised by her cousin (Mordecai) to change her name in order to protect her life (Jews were not liked amongst the people of Persia due to a longstanding history of war...I don't know the exact details). Anyway, when the King was in search of a new wife there was a kingdom wide decree for all of the young virgins of the land to be gathered and brought before the King. Whichever woman was found pleasing to the King would become the new Queen! Now what is really key about this account are three things: 1) The process of beautification; 2) Being humble; and 3) Listening.
     According to the bible (Esther chapter 2), the women who made the final cut (so to speak) to be brought before the King out of all of the women in the land were given very special accommodations. In verse 9 the word states that Esther specifically, found favor as soon as she stepped foot into the kingdom! She pleased the man who was in charge of the candidates for Queen and because she obtained favor with him she was readily given beauty treatments, allowance, and seven chosen maidservants AND ON TOP OF ALL THAT she AND HER SERVANTS were moved to the BEST place in the house where the women were kept!! Each candidate had to complete ONE YEAR of preparation, which mainly involved beauty treatments. Think of having the ultimate spa day EVERYDAY for one year! Being soaked in oils and perfumes, being nicely dressed in the finest silks and fabrics, staying in the King's palace, having their hair done, nails done, having access to gold and jewels, the whole 10 yards ok?! So here we are at the main part of my post. 
     I want all of the ladies reading this to understand that you must go through a process of beautification before meeting YOUR king. Beautify in this context was done on the outside but I believe that God wants to begin our beautification process starting from the inside. So many of us are like Esther. We came from places that were broken and God has brought us to a level where we have found great favor with people of power! Sometimes our pasts creep up on us and make us fear and doubt the high place where God has positioned us. This doubt and fear can make us feel unworthy at times and that's when we begin to self-sabotage our blessings. I'm here to remind you that YOU ARE WORTHY! IN THE EYES OF THE KING OF KINGS, YOU ARE INDEED WORTHY! The word says in Isaiah 61:3 that, "...to all who mourn, the Lord with give a crown of beauty for ashes..." Don't worry about your ashes. Ashes are the remains of something that has been burned or destroyed. Let that bad break-up, that mistake, let that divorce, let that man who lied to you, cheated on you, physically/emotionally/verbally abused you, the man that abandoned you, the man that raped/molested you....LET IT ALL BURN! Let those experiences be COMPLETELY CONSUMED in the fire. Do you know what makes that fire burn?? Forgiveness. In order to beautify what's within you must forgive the ones who hurt you. That is what makes you beautiful from the inside; not being stopped by someone the devil used to stop you. Esther and the other candidates went through a particular process for one year before being called before the King. What is YOUR process?? I know for me, my process is celibacy and focusing on God and His assignments for me. I am not a virgin, however I learned over time that having sex outside of the will of God was going to eventually kill me. In many ways it already had. Sex killed my spirit, killed the love I had in my heart, killed my self-worth, killed my self-respect, killed my hope, and killed my desire to live. Instead of committing suicide, I decided to make a different commitment. In August 2008 I committed my life and my body to Jesus and to decided to LIVE for Him. I promised God that I would keep myself pure until I met my husband and I am still living that promise today...9 years in counting. My process called for God to break the chains of past relationships, mindsets, and generational curses. My process put me on the path of my purpose and I have faith that the works that I will do within my purpose will lead me to my promise! 
     Esther humbled herself throughout this process of being brought before the King. Esther did not depend on her looks to get her favor with the King. She depended on God! Esther's beauty is what initially caught the King's eye BUT it was the contents of her spirit that caught his heart. Today women put so much on outward appearances. Please don't misunderstand...makeup, nice clothes, and a nice hair style are all wonderful things women can and should have. We are beautiful beings because that is how God created us and anything that can complement that should be appreciated BUT when a woman puts her identity and her value in her looks she becomes arrogant, vain, and fraudulent. In Proverbs 31:30, the word states that, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." Instagram, Facebook, the internet, magazines, Hollywood, music videos, and movies place so much emphasis on the outward appearance of a woman that it stops us from exploring the inside of a woman. The world shows us that you can be rewarded and elevated just on looks alone! Not your intelligence, not your character, not your purpose, and not your works...YOUR LOOKS are what make or break you in society today. Money, fame, attention, awards, can all be yours if you can make it on the world's list of, "The 100 Most Beautiful People" and if you don't make that list, then try to imitate those who did make it. If you can look like them than maybe you can get the same benefits they do and all the while you're losing yourself trying to keep up appearances for the approval of someone else. Esther kept a low profile and because of this she was always spotlighted; not by her own doing but by God. The King was looking for more than just a pretty face and so will your King be looking for the same. He will not be drawn to you because of what your Instagram looks like. I believe that YOUR God given mate will prefer that you don't cover your natural beauty with artificial beauty (but he also won't mind if you do because he will know that you as a woman like makeup and things like that). He will not hesitate to tell you how beautiful you are. We as women must be humble in our presentation because we never know who is observing our behavior and not just our beauty.
     Lastly Esther was a good listener. All throughout this process of Esther becoming Queen she humbled herself not only in the presence of the King but also with her cousin. Mordecai cared for Esther after her parents died. The bible says that Mordecai cared for Esther as if she was his own daughter. Mordecai was a palace official and he guided Esther on what steps to take so that she would be chosen as Queen. Mordecai first advised Esther to first change her name and gave her strict instructions to tell no one about her heritage. Now, Esther could have given her cousin major lip service. "Change my name?! No way! I don't like Esther!" "You can't tell me what to do! You're not my father!" Esther did no such thing. She trusted Mordecai and listened to his recommendations for her life. It came to a point where Mordecai had learned of a conspiracy to kill the Jews and he instructed Esther to go before the King and plead before him that her people be spared. Esther was hesitant to go before the King unannounced because it was the law that doing so would result in her death! Mordecai warned Esther that if she remained quiet about this matter and did not speak up for her people that the Jews would be delivered anyway but she would perish due to her disobedience. Mordecai reminded Esther that her position in the Kingdom was for the purpose of saving a nation! Esther listened to her cousin's warning and went before the King knowing that she could be killed. Her act of courage and obedience resulted in Esther and her people being protected from harm! My question to you is who are you NOT listening to? When God speaks to you about staying away from a particular man that you're interested in, do you ignore Him? When God tells you to wait for your husband do you act like you don't hear Him? It has been so important for me to always listen to God when He speaks to me and it has caused me to be protected from men and situations that could have done great harm to me and my purpose! Matthew 11:15 states, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Listening to God will keep you out of trouble and will cause you to be elevated!
     I hope that every woman who reads this post is inspired and uplifted. I encourage you to begin your process of beautification. You will share one very special night with the earthly king that God has made for you. Take this time in your singleness to be beautified by our heavenly King, be humble in His presence, and listen to Him when He speaks to you about your life and who is supposed to be in it and who is NOT supposed to be in it.