She's Got Talent

Sorry that it has been several days since my last entry. I had some great one-on-one time with my hubby over the 4th of July weekend (also our 10th anniversary was thrown in there!) so I'm back and ready to attack some areas of the Word that have been on my heart.
What I really wanted to dive in to today is about talents. Amazingly, my small group (worship group) that meets on Sunday nights to fellowship and practice next Sunday's songs talked about this very subject last night. We were breaking down some scripture that dealt with a parable that Jesus told--Matthew 25:14-30. If you are interested in reading that, please do so--even if it's just to jog your memory. Anway, we got pretty deep in a discussion about how and why God gives us the talents He does, or even if there is a rhyme or reason to it. Is it always fair? Equal? Right?
As I was studying and meditating on it all, a thought came to me about Esther. If you don't know her story, there is an entire book dedicated to her name. It's squished right in between Nehemiah and Job in the Old Testament.
Basically, Esther is an orphaned girl that goes to live with her male cousin, Mordechai. The king at that time is looking for a new wife, so his staff basically holds a huge beauty pageant to select a woman for him. Esther was gorgeous, and she made her way to the top of this search very quickly. The king chooses her to be his queen! Later on, she uses the words and power that the Lord gives her to come before her king and ask that her people (the Jews) be saved from a horrible plot to rid the country of them. Mordechai's life is spared, he is promoted to a high position, and the Jews are all saved--just because of the talents and faith of one woman.
Am I speaking of a female power trip here? Certainly not. What I AM speaking of is a wonderful display of how to use the talents we are given. I'll break it down further...
First of all, I consider Esther's beauty to be a talent. It's something God-given and she was able to use it to benefit her and others around her. How else would the king have noticed her and wanted her as his wife? She was confident in the fact that she was blessed with beauty and she wasn't ashamed to use it in the proper way. Second, she used her talent for speaking. It was rare to begin with that she was able to approach the throne of her husband without him summoning her. Back then, that could have been punishable by death. What Esther did was basically ask God to grant her favor with the king. He did so, and she was able to so eloquently speak to him that he paid attention and granted her requests. There are many other talents I believe she possessed--understanding, listening, obeying--and yes I consider those talents. Esther was most definitely blessed and highly favored by the Lord, and therefore she was used by Him to save a very large amount of people from certain death.
The one and most important thing that I take from the story of Esther is this: DO what God asks of you and DO IT when He tells you to! Accept that His provision is with you, His hand is guiding you, and there is nothing to fear! Believe that He wants to use you for great and mighty things--and LIVE like it! More than having an abundance of talents, Esther had a heart for God. That, my friends, is what it's all about!