Winning The Heart of The King

The book of Esther is a marvelous story of love, compassion and hope. It is an amazing story of how a young peasant girl won the heart of the king, and how God, through a set of circumstances, sovereignly brought great deliverance to a whole nation.

The story of Esther features, amongst many things, a spectacular beauty contest. Hundreds of beautiful young girls were paraded before the king, a mighty and powerful ruler, in his palace. The royal palace, as describe in Esther 1:6,7 was opulent and ostentatious.

There were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen, and purple on silver rods of marble pillars; and the couches were of gold and silver in a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble.

And they served drinks of golden vessels, each vessels being different from the other, with royal wine in abundance, according to the generosity of the king.

Needless to say, most of these young girls would have been overwhelmed by the sheer grandeur of the palace settings.

Have you ever wondered what it was that set Esther apart from all the other beautiful girls, for the king of choose her as a queen?

I believe that Esther won the heart of the king. She did not look at the gold or silver but say His heart. She desired him only and he was won over.

God is tugging at our hearts today. He wants us to look within and question our motive. Did we come to church just to hear a well-preached sermon? Did we come to church to make ourselves feel better? Did we come to church to receive something?

What are we after? Are we after the palace of all His provisions or are we, like Esther, after His presence?

The Lord today is seeking for a people who are more interested in touching His heart rather than desiring the splendor of His kingdom.

Today we need to say, "Lord, forgive me for wanting only what You can do for me. Lord put it in my heart to want You."

Many of us have been side-traced and distracted by our many wants and desires.. If we observe carefully, we will notice that many countries which have been tremendously blessed, have forgotten about God. They have beautiful, impressive churches of Gothic design but God is not there. They fell in love with the beauty and splendour of the palace, instead of falling in love with Him.

Today, God wants to do great things in this nation. Pray for leadership of this nation, for God to change and turn their hearts towards God. Pray that God will open their hearts as we cry out to the Lord.

O God, teach us, show us how to fall in love with You again. We need You to turn us from mere spectators into worshippers. Lord will our mouths and hearts with worship. There is none like You, for You and You alone are worthy of our praise.