“Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.
Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.
These events will bring great honor to the LORD’s name;
they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.” Isaiah 55:13

Esther was thrown into the desert with the briars and thorns of a highly competitive beauty contest in Persia, the land of her captivity. Yet, she lived up to her Jewish name, Hadassah, Myrtle.

Are you living in a desert with nettles and briars surrounding you? You can be that myrtle tree growing up among nettles and briars. You can provide shade and fragrance as you point the prickly annoyances to our sovereign God.

Let’s look at Esther, Chapter 2, and watch Esther prepare to meet the king. Her inner beauty adorns her outward beauty for all to see. She transforms from the inside / out.

Father, thank You for Esther. As we prepare to meet Jesus face-to-face, cause our inner beauty to become Your masterpiece. May the masterpiece adorn our outer countenance so that we bless others with fragrance and shade as we point them to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.