Royals: Living in the Realm of God's FavorSample

Now when the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her. Esther 2:15 (NKJV)

Here we see Esther being favored AFTER following Hegai’s good counsel. Proverbs 1:5 (AMP) says, “The wise will hear and increase their learning, And the person of understanding will acquire wise counsel and the skill [to steer his course wisely and lead others to the truth],” Based on Esther’s spiritual background and considering Hegai was not Jewish, it must have taken good judgment or understanding for Esther to arrive at the decision to accept Hegai’s counsel. And her good judgment attracted favor. Proverbs 13:15 (NIV) says, “Good judgment wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful leads to their destruction.”

Esther did not consider herself too righteous to receive counsel from Hegai. Like Esther, we must exercise good judgment to live in the realm of favor with God and our fellow humans. We can’t put a sovereign God in a box. God has spoken through a donkey, an unjust king, and a lying prophet (Numbers 22:28; 2 Chronicles 35:20-25; 1 Kings 13:18-25). Hence, we must become people of God judgment, having the ability to discern good and evil in line with God’s Word. Good understanding attracts good counsel and favor.

How can we become people of good judgment or understanding?

1 Thessalonians 5:21 (AMP) says, “But test all things carefully [so you can recognize what is good]. Hold firmly to that which is good.” That is, whatever counsel we receive, we must weigh the counsel in light of God’s Word.

Proverbs 9:10 (KJV) says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” As we grow in the knowledge of God, we develop good understanding. We grow in the knowledge of God by getting to know God through His Word and daily communication with Him. I pray that the hunger to know God stirs up in you this moment.

Again, I encourage you to pray Ephesians 3:14-21 today.