Losers

Losers

Young Women In Persia

Read: Esther 2:12-14

When she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, she hardly recognized her face. The corners of her mouth turned down, her eyes showed more red than white, and the dark circles under her eyes testified to another sleepless night. She had seen the telltale scowl on her husband’s face and had known what to expect. Whenever he had a bad day at work, he took it out on her. Oh, he never hit her, but she felt beaten up. “Why did I marry a loser like you? You can’t do anything right!” His words echoed inside her head and made her wonder why she had even been born.

Many of the women in ancient Persia must have also felt like losers. After each of the women in today’s passage (except Esther) had her chance to impress the king, she moved to the second harem, where all the king’s wives and concubines lived. She never went into the king’s presence again unless he remembered her and specifically requested her by name. These women never had the chance to enjoy life as real wives with families of their own. It’s hard to imagine how they felt about being confined to the king’s harem for the rest of their lives, just another face in a huge crowd of women rejected by the king.

Women feel like losers for a variety of reasons. They may suffer verbal or physical abuse, be overweight, have a physical handicap, go through divorce, deal with problem children, or be poor and homeless. The bad news is that we are all losers—which is why we need a Savior. Jesus gave his life to win the battle for our souls so that we could be accepted by the King and not live as rejects. The antidote to feeling like a loser is to focus on what God says about us. When we lose ourselves in his love, we know we are winners.

My victory and honor come from God alone.

Psalm 62:7