To prosper, to be successful…
To have a life that leaves a mark in history…
Published by Deborah Negron – Child of God
October 14, 2022
So, it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. And the king said to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!”
Esther 5:2-3
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”
I Kings 3:5-14
Solomon had learned from his father David. He had listened and observed how the God of his father was faithful and just. Solomon asked God for wisdom to lead the people. He did not rely on his new found position. He did not rely on his power or ability to command as king. No, he asked the Lord for wisdom. He came to understand that he needed more than his God given place. He needed the wisdom of God to be a good leader and to be able to be a wise king.
As we go through life we need to understand that we can always learn. We do not have all the answers. Seeking God’s will and His word will enable us to navigate through life’s decisions. Every step can be positive if, we follow the Lord. If, we seek first, to please God and serve him, He will guide and lead us by His Holy Spirit. He will not allow us to fall so far that we cannot be restored. He will keep us in the day of trouble.
The foolish seek for wealth and for possessions. These can be taken. But wisdom and understanding are treasures we store in heaven. The Lord knows best how we ought to live. He has a plan and purpose for our lives. He will orchestrate even the most complex beginnings in to something wonderful. If we commit our lives to Him.
For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:32-34
Seek ye First the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added un yo uou. Mathew 6:33
The Lord orders the steps of the righteous. The Lord guides the way of those who are obedient and are willing to be led. No one can choose wisely unless he be in the Word.
There are those who do not listen. They think they are wiser than God. They stumble and fall and forget truth. They create their ideas and believe their own lies. They are as those who blindfold themselves and fall in a ditch.
The fool is void of understanding. The fool despises correction and runs from following the truth. He believes his friends have more wisdom than the elders. He runs to seek pleasure and finds in the end, he is but a prodigal.
She sits in wait claiming wisdom yet she has violated her mother’s home. She thinks she has grown yet, she has been ignorant and has lusted after many things to to her own detriment.
No one can be wise without instruction. No one can be guided when pride has set in.
Pride has destroyed their ability to reason and their disdain for their leaders has caused them to be as a stubborn mule.
A mule is good only for heavy labor to carry the weight of another. It is barren and cannot produce. It is closed minded and cannot reason. It is only used to be led here or there and cannot choose for itself. There is no hope for those who choose their own path and believe they are in the right. Like mules they follow and thirst but cannot produce anything for themsleves becsuse they are vpid of understanding. Barren minds have thise who follow their own imaginations and assume they will win in the end.
Yet, for those who listen and those who follow the way of the Lord, there is great reward. For the son who honors his father and obeys his mother, there will be peace.
The man not void of reason and not void of comprehesion is he, who looks with a desire to learn and seeks with a heart of humility.
The gratitud they have for those who raised them brings honor to the Lord. For they seek to please God in every process and in every place.
Solomon appreciated his Father’s instruction. He chose to follow God. Even though he had moments of deviation from his path. In the end he understood that thise who become himble before God and repent are better for it.
He wrote the book of Ecclesiasties late in life. Chapter three shows us how he grew to understsnd the cyclical ways in which life comes and goes. He grew to understand everything outside of God is vanity. The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-4
He had learned to listen and to follow the instructions his father gave him regarding the building of the temple. He also was able to ask God with humility for the wisdom he needed to lead the children of Israel. As the years went by he deviated but the mercy and the plan of God in his life came to pass. He grew to understand that too much knowledge was tiresome.
In the end he came to that place where once again he concluded saying,
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
Those that are obedient to God and seek Him first and cling to that place of humility and prayer find that God does not disappoint them.
They bring no shame to the Lord nor do they hold on to their foolish positions. They learn They are not stubborn and closed. They come to that place where they bow their knees and acknowledge who God is. They come to the place where they surrender. God rhen becomes their hope snf their refuge, their strength and their peace.
Esther was raised by Mordecai, her cousin, he became her father figure. Her parents had died.
Even when life does not appear to run the way one would think would be profitable, the Lord has a plan. He orders the steps of those who obey.
The Lord showed mercy and gave Esther wisdom to free her people in order for them to prepare to defend themselves in the day of battle. Esther’s life was quite bleak at the start yet she becsme a queen. She was accepted and blessed for her humility and her obedience. She was a conduit of freedom for her people.
When we submit to the will of God, he is able to use us to benefit not only our own lives but the lives of others as well.
Solomon’s proverbs are present and still accessible for us, even to this day.
Esther’s story is still told today, as an example of obedience and humility and how God can use us regardless of our origin.
The Bible says that the Lord does not turn away a person who is humble and contrite spirit.
A bruised reed shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he not quench, Till he send forth judgment unto victory.
Matthew 12:20
The Lord delighted in the attitude Esther took. She humbled herself and prayed and asked the Lord to direct her. Her first course of action was to humble herself. This caused her to become that catalyst that changed the negative outcome for her people to a positive one.
Solomon understood he was incapable as a young ruler taking the throne of his father David. He acknowledged his need for wisdom. Since, he did not ask for wealth or possessions but for understanding to be able to lead and govern his people, the Lord blessed him with everything else.
We too can become those who seek the Lord first. Regardless of where we are in life. Regardless of whether we are young or old, rich ir poor, we can cry out to the Father. Regardless of how far we may have strayed from the truth we can come again and surrender snd seek him.
Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day of reconciliation. Today we can begin to obey God. We can help turn the tide as we submit to His will for our lives.
Instead of going our own way and seeking the pleasures of sin for a season, we can turn back to the Author of our days. We can surre der to the one who will not turn us away.
We can look at the outcomes of both Esther and Solomon and see that status or lack there of does not determine outcomes.
What determines our success in life is surrender. How far am I willing to let God have dominion over every area of my life? How commited am I to obedience and giving the Lord the access to govern our lives will be demonstrated in how God moves and uses us for his glory.
Esther is still spoken of today. That poor orphan girl who was under servanthood and subject to the government of one that was not her own. God raised her up to be a queen that brought deliverance to her people.
Solomon, the son of Bathesheba, the woman David had married after he had commited crimes against her first husband and had repented and reconciled to God. This Solomon was given as a sign of God’s forgiveness toward David.
You see, God takes the brokenness of David. He sees the humility in his heart and how he repents from his sin. God is a God of mercy. Regardless of our origins, God is in the transformation business. He tskes the useless, the ones deemed worthless by society and he raises them up.
He is the one who gets the glory.
David, Solomon’s father was the one who was given the promise that his seed would have a king in the throne forever.
God keeps his promises.
He orders the steps of those who submit in true repentance. He saves the lost and goves them seats of priests and kings. He sits us in the heavenlies.
He heals, restores, breaks down and then rebuilds in order to fulfill his divine purpose.
His desire is that none should perish. His desire is that you and I would walk in humility and obedience. As we humble ourselves before him, he will cause all things to wirk in our favor.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
He has a plan and a purpose for our lives. But this comes when we surre der and seek him.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
Esther found rest. She saw the Lord deliver her people.
Solomon came to the end of his life and acknowledged that our duty in life is to fear God and keep his commitments.
His commandments bring us stability, hope and peace. His path brings us Eternal Life.
God’s word puts it this way,
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, And mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Psalm 32:1, 5-7
The Lord is close to thise who seek him. He is ready to save. His arm id outstretched and his counsel is sure.
LORD I PRAY, THAT YOU WOULD GIVE USEARS TO HEAR AND MINDS RHAT WOULD UBDERSTAND. GIVE US HEARTS THAT WILL FOLLOW YOU AND THEREBY BE BLESSED.
Teach me Your way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name. Psalm 86:11
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
2 John 1:6
As Jesus was obedient to the Father even unto death, So we, when we surrender to him will fulfill his will and be blessed and bless others as we follow the footsteps he has prepared for us to walk in.
This day if you are listening or reading this Word, I want to plead with you. The Lord is calling out to you. Come be in his plan. Become acquainted with Him. Come and know Him and his plan for you.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11
Just as he had a plan for aesther and for Solomon, He has a plan for you.
and the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; and to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.
Deuteronomy 26:18-19
He tells you today,
He wants you to become his people. He desires that you would walk in to your true destiny.
For God sol loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
He want sto tell you,
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10
He calls you out and wants to bering you in to his light, his plan and his purpose.
Seek Him while He may Be Found.
I pray the Lord tskes his Word and by His Spirit imparts His life giving power to you.
Like Esther and Solomon, your life matters. God wants to bless your life.
So, What do you want? Blessing amd peace or struggle and dissapointment?
Life and Faith By Deb 
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