So often, I know in my own life, I have remained silent, or cowardice of others opinions about what I know God has told me to do. And every time I remained silent, God...
“ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry, he commanded Muhuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Xerxes, to bring Queen Vashti before the king wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious" Esther 1:10-12.
The story of Esther has always resonated closely to my heart. Many times in my own life I've had to decide whether or not to be silent or take on the boldness of Christ. What a beautiful depiction verses 10-12 paint of how God sees us. As many times as I have read this, I have never had such a revelation as this. In these verses Queen Vashti refuses to yield to the calling of the king. When all the while, he just wanted to show off her beauty and her gifts. This is exactly how God does when He opens up doors in our lives.
God is always wanting to create opportunities for us to flourish and utilize our gifts. God gets glory out of our lives when He gets the opportunity to "show us off." We cannot afford to be afraid to yield to the calling of the King. We can't allow fear, past regrets, shame, etc. to hold us back from the Lord utilizing the beauty that is within us; Jesus.
"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. For you are called for such a time as this" Esther 4:14.
This verse is very powerful to me! So often, I know in my own life, I have remained silent, or cowardice of others opinions about what I know God has told me to do. And every time I remained silent, God rose someone up who was bold enough to say something. Though I do not live in the past, I can surely learn something from it. I have learned that living for the affirmation that the world will bring when you live to please man cannot compare to living in the fullness of Christ. The bottom line is, you will never be able to live up to the worlds standard because it is fickle. The truth is, you are called for more, but maybe you have settled for less because of your dreams being shot down.
Well, I am here today to tell you that, "the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable," Romans 11:29. Nothing we do can change what He has planned for us, but we do have a decision to make and that is yielding to the calling of the King. We must yield to what He has gifted us in and allow ourselves to become a pedestal for God to shine from. You are equipped and empowered to do the work of the Lord. Simply, yield.
