When You Are In Your Promised Land.

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

Do you feel you are close to your promise? Has the Lord been inviting you into your promised land? Has He shown you like He showed the Israelites how close you now are? Maybe you got the job opportunity you so wanted, but they have not given you the offer letter yet. Or maybe the business has shown signs of taking off. Maybe you are gearing up to fly out. Whatever the case may be, this is for you if you can taste your promised land. And to help us bring this home, let us look at the life of Esther.
While Esther did not necessarily get a promise from God that she would be king, she was among those selected to replace Queen Vashti after she had disobeyed the king. And it was up to King Xerxes to choose the woman who won his heart.

• Esther Made Queen
• A little background about Esther.
• So what lessons can you learn from Esther when you are at the threshold of your promised land?
  • Be Teachable
  • Be focused
  • Go through the process.
  • Don’t forget who you are
  • Keep on learning and growing
  • Be Private
• Conclusion

Esther Made Queen

2 Later when King Xerxes’ fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. ² Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. ³ Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. ⁴ Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.

⁵ Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, ⁶ who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. ⁷ Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither a father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

⁸ When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. ⁹ She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.

¹⁰ Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. ¹¹ Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.

¹² Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. ¹³ And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. ¹⁴ In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.

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¹⁵ When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. ¹⁶ She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. ¹⁷ Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

A little background about Esther.

Esther was an orphan. When her parents died, Mordecai, her cousin, adopted her and raised her up as his own. Mordecai worked in the palace and she was also a eunuch. Eunuchs were no threats to women and that is why the Bible tells us he could pace around the women’s courts to find out how Esther was faring.
So, having Mordecai having raised Esther, we see she had learned a few things here and there about royalty and life in the palace. I mean, we get acclimated to the ways of our surrounding places. So there must have been some mannerisms that Mordecai picked up that he brought home with him. And he must have trained Esther on some of them. Or maybe Esther, out of curiosity, had asked to know more about how life was like there and Mordecai had told her.
What I am getting at in all this is that everything you go through has a purpose. When Esther’s parents died and she went to live with Mordecai, God knew that one day she would be among the contestants contending for the queen’s position. And God in His divine plan planned it in such a way that it would be Mordecai who raised her. Mordecai encouraged her to contend to be queen. And Esther obliged.
Here was Esther in the palace.

She knew no one and she must have felt alone. This was the second time she was going to an unfamiliar place. The first time was when she had to move and live with Mordecai after the death of her parents. She must have missed having a woman figure around her. She had to adjust to the changes that had happened. And now here she was moving again to the palace. And this time, not only was she among the contestants, she almost had to compete with people from all over the world.

Some ladies there had been born for that. They had probably gone through the best training to prepare for this moment. Yet here Esther was with an unfair disadvantage. Fortunately, she did not let it deter her. Because of her humility and desire to obey, she followed every instruction Hegai gave her. She also won the favor of Hegai and Hegai gave her the best maid-servants, rooms, and even more special treatments they were all required to have.
Esther recognized she had some limitations and if she was going to win, she had to acknowledge her limitations. She did not refuse when Hegai offered her help. Rather, she accepted. Although people found her beautiful, she knew that wasn’t what won the king over. There had to be something more. You see, just because you are in your promised land now does not mean that you should relax. There are giants you need to destroy because they are after the very position God has for you. Are you aware of that?
Esther knew that and she was very determined to follow the rules and take care of her responsibilities. For 6 months, she had to go through the treatment of myrrh and olive oil. They used both as healing oils. This treatment ensured that any wounds or broken skin you had was cured and completely healed. They used the treatment to remove any discoloration or any skin disease or issue you might have had. Mind you, the procedure took 6 months so the goal was for them to come out looking their best self.

Many must have wondered if it was necessary to go through that entire process. Imagine every day for 6 months knowing that you had to get the treatment. It must have been exhausting. Yet Esther persevered in it all. She understood she had to go through the entire process successfully if she was to come out successful.
Then she had to go through another 6 months of cosmetics and perfume. Every day she had unique perfumes applied all over her body. This must have been beautiful, though. Her body odor changed. Once she had gone through the whole process, that is the entire 12-month period, her turn came to go to the king. Yet again, in her humility, she sought Hegai on what the king would like and Hegai told her. And the Bible tells us that Esther gained favor from both people and the king. And they immediately crowned her queen. Esther went through another process even after she got to the palace. She did not lose track of the reason she was there. And because she persevered, she won the crown.

So what lessons can you learn from Esther when you are at the threshold of your promised land?

Be Teachable

In all this, Esther gained favor because she was teachable. The good things in the palace did not get to her. Esther knew that obedience would get her closer to her goal. She did not look down on Hegai for being the one serving her. Instead, she sought advice from him. She recognized that having been there longer, he knew the king better than anyone else. This is the attitude you need to embody while in your promised land. Have your eyes open. You never know who will help you gain the favor to be on top. And yet again, being teachable requires you to be humble. And we all know the Bible makes it clear that when we humble ourselves before God, God will lift us up.
Humility comes before elevation. Do not become cocky now that you are in your promised land. Be patient and humble so that you can learn the ropes. Otherwise, in your arrogance, you may lose it all before you even get the chance to fully step into your promised land.

Be focused

While it is true, you are in your promised land, do not lose your eye on the prize. You have just entered, so there are some things you have to do to fully get acclimated to the place. Don’t allow the glitz and glamor of your promised land to make you lose the sense of why you are there. When God gave you the promise, He gave you instructions as well. And one of them is to ensure that you remain pure. Esther could have decided that she had arrived and not want to be queen anymore.

After all, she had the very best of everything at her disposal. But she did not. She knew that being queen was the ultimate goal. And she was willing to do whatever it took to get it.
Do not abuse God’s favor in your life. Yes, it was God who gave you the position, but you have a role to do to keep it. Esther had God’s favor on her. But it was her resilience that earned her favor with the king and everyone else around her. And it all came from her character and doing what was required of her. You cannot decide to do things your way when rules are in place.

Remember the same God who promotes also dishonors. It is up to you to decide if you will keep your promised land. God does not take back the gift but you can lose it to the devil. God gave Adam and Eve dominion over everything on earth. But because of sin, they lost their authority to the enemy. When you are not focused, you will lose your why. The Israelites had a role to play before they possessed their promised land and that was to get rid of their enemies. What strongholds does God want you to fight before you can take over? Find out and keep at it.

Go through the process.

There is a process that you have to go through before you can fully gain victory in your promised land. Maybe it is an exam, pass or a training program you have to successfully complete. Whatever it is, go through it and do it with excellence. Although Daniel had the spirit of excellence in him, he still studied and learned what his teachers needed him to. He did not take God’s favor for granted. He did his part and because of that, God could bless him with more

If you steward the little well, God will reward you with more. Your promised land is a responsibility that God has added unto you, this is why the process matters. The process will test your patience and perseverance. Remember, there will be people telling you you don’t deserve to be here. But when you have gone through the process, no one will have the guts to look down on you.
Esther went through the same training as everyone else. Although God had already ordained her to be queen for a purpose, she had to go through the promise. Just because God gave you a promise, does not disqualify you from going through the process. Jesus had to go through baptism before God revealed Him. He had to go through the wilderness before receiving power. So recognize that this is the process of your unveiling. And even when it gets frustrating, just hold on because your day of unveiling is nigh. You can be in your promised land but still oppressed. And that is okay, too.

Don’t forget who you are

When you are in your promised land, it is very easy for you to lose track of who you are. You might get blinded by the fame, the position, and the blessing. You might even get tempted to want to do things like everyone else. But I want to caution you to remember who you are. You are God’s child. This means that you are His ambassador to the world. God gave you the position for a purpose. And this means that you should not stop seeking Him when you get what you prayed for. In fact, you will need Him more in your promised land for you to effectively sustain the blessing.

He will direct your steps if you let Him. And in your partnership with Him, you will experience the fullness of who He created you to be and who you are in Him. This is only the beginning of the journey and not the destination. Stay true to who you are. Ask the Holy Spirit for help and always make time for God and His word.
Your effectiveness will stem from how much time you are willing to spend with God. So you get to decide what you want. God will never override your free will. He however would like for you to include Him every step of the way.

Keep on learning and growing

Don’t relax when you get to your promised land. Remember, there is always something you can learn and ways you can improve. It was when David rested that temptation came in. Always stay alert. I am not telling you not to enjoy your hard work and your blessing. All I am saying is to remember to tend to it by working on and improving yourself. In what ways can you level up? Do that. Whether it is through training or just taking on a new hobby. Be on the lookout for any opportunity God might bring your way while you are in your promised land. He always has more for you. And remember also to enjoy the blessing too. All work and no play will make you dull.

Be Private

Just like Mordecai told Esther not to reveal who she was, sometimes God will ask you to keep private some aspects of who you are. So be private and learn to only divulge what is necessary. Therefore, discernment is important. And also why the process before the Promised Land was important. You need to be content in who you are in Christ that you don’t feel the need to divulge everything. Silence is key. Not everyone needs to know everything about you. Be friendly, but also as wise as a serpent.

• DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE IN JESUS?
• THE REASON YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR BREAKTHROUGH.
• CAN YOUR IDENTITY BE RESTORED?
• SELF DOUBT: HOW CAN YOU OVERCOME IT?
• WINNING THE WAR IN YOUR MIND!

Conclusion

When you are in your promised land remember that there is a process before the rest. Go through it so you can be fully prepared for it. You should always remember who you are and not try to live like others are. Live a private life and do not abuse God’s favor in your life. Ask God for both wisdom and discernment, as these two will help you navigate your new season.
Do not forget God when you are in your promised land. Rather, you should keep Him close. He got you there, He can sustain you there too.