And she "gained" favor!

Lately God's been laying on my heart the appealing characteristics of a Godly woman, and I have been praying He would point them out to me more so day by day. Today I've been reading in Esther and couldn't help but notice the differences between Queen Vashti and Esther. As we are introduced to Queen Vashti she finds herself in a 180 day party celebrating her husband King Xerxes. She is a noble woman the granddaughter of King Nebuchadnezzar accustomed to getting her own way, because of her royal heritage. People of this time simply did not say no to this girl. She is an amazing beauty, even more so than Esther. So she was also accustomed to some degree of getting her way solely based on this fact. She is living in a beautiful castle in fact God saw fit to describe it for several verses. And The description of its beauty and the decadent food and drink are not wasted on this former poor kid. I've always thought how lucky she was to be there, and I never understood how she could so flippantly throw it all away. Drunk King Xerxes sends his eunuchs to ask her to come to the men's party so that he could show off her beauty. And not just one eunuch but 7. He made a bit of a production of this. He was looking to impress these very important men. And SHE SAID NO! She refused. Now listen I get it she had partied with everyone for 180 days and then partied with the ladies for the next 7. He was drunk and so were the rest of the men. But, listen guys her husband, the king, who provided her a life we can hardly imagine called her to come down and be shown off. And her pride? Her circumstance? caused her to say in front of his eunuchs and the noble ladies and all of the visiting nobility that she would not be coming. No. Well I don't know about y'all but I've been here. Not exactly here. But still here. Filled with pride and stubborn will, and one of the things I've found in this situation is there is always a consequence... always. Her husband was enraged! And Followed the counsel of His advisers. And as a consequence she was refused to ever be in the company of the king again, and she was to be stripped of her position. Then we meet Esther. She is an orphaned Jew living with her uncle Mordecai. She was lovely. Upon arriving and meeting Hegai the kings eunuch and the one in charge of the harems and all the girls coming in to compete for the position of queen, she pleased him and gained his favor. Beth Moore puts it this way: She did not wait for favor to fall on her, or be granted to her she endeared herself to him Esther had people skills. Never underestimate the impact of God-driven, scripture quickened people skills, even in the most uncomfortable human encounters. Esther is not meant to teach us how to work people but how to work with people. Hegai went the extra mile because she was humble and likeable. She threw down her defenses and drew his favor without demanding it. She had manners. When the time came for Esther to go and meet the king she was allowed to take anything at all with her and she only used what Hegai advised. She was not too proud to listen and learn from a eunuch who knew the king very well. It says that she won the favor of everyone who saw her. Even the other ladies. She used good judgement and wisdom. Humility and gratitude. And 2:17 The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. There is so much to be said of all these beautiful qualities she possessed, and I hope to grow stronger in all the above. And sisters if you say but that's just not who and how I am, well it wasn't who and how I was either. I have learned these things and continue to learn daily. I can tell you being angry, proud, and "hating" everything does not endear us to anyone. No one says she is so negative and she's never thankful. She hates everyone and everything in her life at some point, in person, on facebook, through whatever means. I want to spend more time with her. I don't want to be a Vashti because at some point God will humble me. I want to be an Esther and allow Him to exalt me. I want the same for all of you. God Bless and Keep You, Ms. Jill