can i be like her when i grow up?
So, in my quest to study and learn all i can about Queen Esther (Hadassah)… i have come across a couple books. One of which i have read a few times (One Night with the King – Tommy Tenney), and the other i just began diving into a few nights ago. It’s called Chosen. While I am not as taken with this specific portrayal of Hadassah, there have been a few things stirring in my Spirit as i’ve read, and i thought i’d share them.
when i read the following passage… my first thoughts were “Lord, make me like that… THAT is the kind of person I strive to be!”
“When we risk letting down our guard and taking off our masks, we let others see our weaknesses and faults, we draw them to us. We send out a quiet signal that it’s safe to be real with us. Hadassah’s power, and ours, does not grow by comparing our beauty to another’s, or by insisting our strength is superior, but by setting all claims aside”
it sounds so simple when you read it… but what a difficult task this can be sometimes, especially when we live in a culture like ours… However, “we must not let our culture determine our behavior”. This is really crucial to becoming the person that the Lord created us to be. If we are comparing ourselves to everyone and everything around us, and trying to conform to it… then where does our UNIQUE self go? After all, the art of the world really is “only and art of pageantry – shadowplay with no source or substance”. Everything is made to seem so wonderful… but when the choice is made to follow after it – the result is emptiness. Not much has changed i guess… Eve struggled with this in the garden, Queen Esther struggled with this, and now I struggle with this. My hearts desire, however, is to follow in the footsteps of Hadassah – of Queen Esther. She understood what she was up against, but was unwavering. She didn’t always “understand the turns in her path, but was committed to the course.”
Throughout her entire life, the Lord was preparing her for such a time as this. And our situation is quite the same. “There seems to be a correlation between the preparation time and the magnitude of the task.” If we allow Him – the Lord will raise us up for a work mightier than we could imagine. I’m sure that Hadassah grew weary during her YEAR of preparation for ONE NIGHT with the king… but little did she know that the Lord was really preparing her to be the mother of a Nation; and not only that but to save her RACE! What an amazing call! The grace and favor of the Lord that was on Hadassah must have been incredible – as it was evident to all who came in contact with her – including the king.
As sons and daughters of the King of ALL kings, we are called to this same dedicated preparation. He will give us the grace and favor needed to accomplish HIS dreams THROUGH us. There is nothing Adonai prepares us for that is not worth the pain of preparation.
This is so beautiful…thank you for sharing