The Risk of Not Being Able To Listen
LYNN COWELL
“When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.” Esther 2:15 (ESV)
I was doing it again.
Though my eyes were looking at my friend and I was even nodding, my thoughts were far ahead. Crafting how I would respond to her messy situation, I prepared my “sage” advice in my head.
Do you sometimes do that, too? Think of what you’ll say instead of listening to what is being said?
I’m beginning to see that when I don’t listen I’m taking a huge risk: I could suffer the loss of gaining the wisdom I need.
In the past couple of years, I’ve begun to see how much I have to learn when it comes to listening. One person I’m learning from is none other than Esther from the Old Testament.
In the book of Esther, Chapter 2, Esther found herself in an uncertain situation. She was a woman up to her neck in precarious circumstances beyond her control, living in a culture that didn’t worship the way she did.
The king had dethroned his queen; now he was ready to fill the empty spot. Perhaps with mixed motives of their own, advisers gave the king counsel to search throughout his kingdom for the best fit. Commissioners then went to every province to collect young, beautiful virgins to be tested by the king and ultimately to become part of his harem. Only one would be chosen as queen.
Before her night with the king, each woman “was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace” (Esther 2:13, ESV). Since each woman took whatever she desired, the wisdom she needed fell to herself. Though Esther would have only lived in the palace for a year, in a foreign environment, she needed to take what she deemed best.
Esther realized she didn’t know what she needed to know. There was a huge risk here; her future was at stake.
Instead of thinking ahead to what she thought she should do or say next, Esther listened to Hegai, a servant employed directly by the king. While Hegai was not a Jew or God-follower like Esther, he was someone who did know what Esther needed to know.
“When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.” (Esther 2:15)
We know Esther listened because she did what Hegai advised.
Listening requires humility. Esther’s actions said, “I don’t know what I need to know. You do. Teach me. Guide me.”
Humility is not something I typically run toward because humility and humiliation often feel like the same thing. If I humble myself and admit what I don’t know (but need to know), I’m afraid I’ll look weak or unqualified — even overly vulnerable.
Instead, my old self, the part of me resistant to change and being made new by Jesus, wants to “fake it till I make it” instead of listening and learning.
Listening gave Esther exactly what she needed: wisdom. Listening gave her tools to move from outsider to insider, the place of true influence. Listening to someone on the inside — humbling herself before she went to the king — allowed Esther not to be humiliated when she met the king.
Listening will do the same for you and me. Instead of thinking only of ourselves and what we want to do or say next, we can listen to learn. Developing a listening and learning heart makes room for God to use us for His glory and to draw others to Himself — a very worthy outcome.
Father, help me to humble myself and to become one who truly listens to learn, for I can learn something from every person because every person has been made in Your image. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
