AS WITH ESTHER, I AM GIVING FAVOR TO THOSE WHO ARE PURE OF HEART
- Lana Henderson
- Mar 6, 2023
- 6 min read
Word, Vision, and Teaching from November 30, 2022 | Originally released by Truth-Justice-Mercy on March 6, 2023 | Updated 1/20/25 to add in historical paragraph and references for clarity
Good evening,
I have been hanging onto this word for a few months. But with Purim beginning this evening at sundown, I felt it was the perfect time to release it. Did you know that in the Jewish calendar, Purim is considered “The Jolliest Day of the Year?”
The Lord spoke this while I was, once again, driving in the countryside and listening to the Bible in French. This time, my husband was riding with me, so I asked if he would pull out my notebook and write it down. That was a first for both of us, and I have to say that there is just something completely different and powerful about hearing yourself proclaim the word of the Lord out loud as He is speaking it.
As the Lord pours out His glory and begins shifting some of us into our new roles, may we find that—despite scary things we may be called upon to do—we are indeed entering into the “jolliest season of our lives.”
-Lana
AS WITH ESTHER, I AM GIVING FAVOR TO THOSE WHO ARE PURE OF HEART
Tuesday November 30, 2022 – 11:00 am
This word came to me while I was listening to chapter 2 of Esther while driving. It jumped out at me that, even from the get-go, as Esther was taken under the care of Hegai at the palace, she was being shown favor (verses 8-9). This is only because the Lord God was highlighting her and causing her to shine. I saw a picture in my mind of the following, and then the Lord began speaking:
VISION:
Precious nuggets of gold were gleaming as they began to catch the light from under—what seemed to be—a hopeless pile of rubble and destruction. Hands were reaching down to pull out these nuggets that they’d suddenly just seen.
“I am giving favor to those who are pure of heart.
From the ashes you will rise, for many of you have been through the fire; you’ve been through the shaking. Out of the rubble you will shine. You’ve been hidden under the rubble for such a time as this. I’ve been refining you and purifying your hearts. You’ve been through many hard things, but I’ve been preparing you for a purpose I’ve prepared since the foundations of the earth.
Rise up, My daughters. Rise up, My sons. It is time for you to shine. Shine forth your light. Shine forth MY light. It is pure and holy, and filled with My power, and My glory, and My presence.
You will make a difference in My Kingdom; you will make a difference in this world. For, My power is a difference-maker. You will be recognized because of My light. People will be drawn to you because they are being drawn to Me. My fragrance is a sweet perfume. Keep it pure and holy, My people.
Holy is the word of the Lord.”
Many of you have been through the fire. For some, it’s felt more like an endless wall of fires, disasters, disappointments, and loneliness in a season of captivity, and you wonder when it will end and when you will see victory.
When will you see that abundant life that’s been promised? When will you be able to flow in the ministry you are called to? When will you no longer be overlooked, misjudged, rejected, shut out, or simply have to set aside your God-given dreams to fulfill other obligations? So many have had all of their time and energy consumed with good and necessary things… at the expense of the precious things He has called you to.
And then, there are still others, like Esther, who are just doing what is in front of them to do. She was going through a “normal” life in a way that honored the Lord. Since her parents had both died, clearly she had gone through some adversity and heartache in her past. But there’s no indication that she was presently unhappy or going through hardship at the time the book of Esther opens… unless, of course, you consider why her people were scattered throughout the Persian Empire in the first place:
A hundred years prior, they'd been hauled off into captivity far away from their Promised Land! We learn in Ezra that King Cyrus had since declared them free to return and rebuild the temple. But Jerusalem itself was not in great shape, as the walls were still ruins, according to Nehemiah 1. So, in the book of Esther, we find them in that place of in-between, with their lives now fairly entrenched... in a foreign system and land. It appears that Esther, like many of you, is just going through the motions of the day-to-day.
But as you have been faithful in the little things, the Lord has been carefully watching your hearts. Scripture says that Esther obeyed her cousin Mordecai, who had raised her as his own daughter. She was faithful and she was obedient.
The Father has seen your bonds and restraints, and yet He has also seen your tenacity and faithfulness. Some of you don’t feel tenacious at all! You feel defeated, battle-weary, incapable, boxed in, or maybe just plain ordinary. But God Almighty has heard the cries and seen the steadfastness of your hearts. And—when just the right eyes are watching—He will cause the ruins of your captivity to shift just enough for you to suddenly shine out from underneath. You will be picked up like a precious gem, dusted off, and given favor and honor.
But know this: this honor comes at a price. Esther did not get to live on Easy Street for very long after being chosen as Queen. There were still even greater risks to be taken – risks that could very well have cost her life.
Some of you have already paid a very high price. And, while you will find a new freedom and strength to flow in your authority and calling, there will be still greater challenges to face.
“If I perish, I perish.”
It is paramount that we deem our precious Lord worthy of this mindset as we step out to face the hard things. But when those moments come, know that you have been refined and specially prepared for such a time as this! You would surely not be able to accomplish the calling ahead without the tenacity and boldness that has been developed, whether through the fire and the shaking, or simply through obedience and faithfulness in the mundane. The Lord has hand-selected you to shine and to be given favor.
He is with you, and He is so, so worthy!
Esther 2:5-11, CSB
“5In the fortress of Susa, there was a Jewish man named Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite. 6Kish had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the other captives when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took King Jeconiah of Judah into exile. 7Mordecai was the legal guardian of his cousin Hadassah (that is, Esther), because she had no father or mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was extremely good-looking. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter.
8When the king’s command and edict became public knowledge and when many young women were gathered at the fortress of Susa under Hegai’s supervision, Esther was taken to the palace, into the supervision of Hegai, keeper of the women. 9The young woman pleased him and gained his favor so that he accelerated the process of the beauty treatments and the special diet that she received. He assigned seven hand-picked female servants to her from the palace and transferred her and her servants to the harem’s best quarters.
10Esther did not reveal her ethnicity or her family background, because Mordecai had ordered her not to make them known. 11Every day Mordecai took a walk in front of the harem’s courtyard to learn how Esther was doing and to see what was happening to her.”
Esther 2:15-18; CSB
“15Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai who had adopted her as his own daughter. When her turn came to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women, suggested. Esther gained favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.
16She was taken to King Ahasuerus in the palace in the tenth month, the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17The king loved Esther more than all the other women. She won more favor and approval from him than did any of the other virgins. He placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. 18The king held a great banquet for all his officials and staff. It was Esther’s banquet. He freed his provinces from tax payments and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.”
Esther 4:15-17, CSB
“15Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16‘Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.’ 17So Mordecai went and did everything Esther had commanded him."
Comments