Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me

“Esther had not revealed her people or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it. ¹¹And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women’s quarters, to learn of Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.” Esther 2:10-11 NKJV

Father God,

This book entitled Esther and the narrative in it are not about the King or even the place. Yes Ester is in it, but it is mostly about You, God. Encouraging Jews living in a foreign land, that You would still save them, still provide for them. Some people had returned to Jerusalem but there was still a great many spread out in many other nations. The diaspora. And they had intermarried whereas those who returned to Jerusalem were reminded You God had forbade this.

Esther kept her Jewish roots secret, but she’s far from foolish and she trusts Mordecai and those she knows can help her. She is teachable. Her behaviour and willingness to accept advice from Hegai, the custodian of the women, gained her the favour of all. One woman among many beautiful women. We would say today Lord that she was also beautiful on the inside. You opened the door and placed her in the right place at the right time and with the right attitude. And perhaps they glimpsed something different about her. Because she knew You, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Many of us cannot profess to be one of the beautifully people. But how lovely it would be to be known as a beautiful person by our lives. Not because of how good we have been, or what we have done or achieved but because Jesus, You God could be seen in us, our behaviour and attitudes.

Worship Monday 14th September 2026
Two simple prayer choruses that I first heard at the Salvation Army.

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All his wonderful passion and purity,
O thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine,
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

Lyrics: Albert W T Osborn

To be like Jesus!
This hope possesses me;
In every thought and deed,
This is my aim, my creed;
To be like Jesus!
This hope possesses me;
His Spirit helping me,
Like Him I’ll be.

Lyrics: John Gowans.

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. ²Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. ³You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.” ⁴For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night. ⁵You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up: ⁶In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down and withers.

⁷For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified. ⁸You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. ⁹For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh. ¹⁰The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. ¹¹Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath. ¹²So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

¹³Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants. ¹⁴Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days! ¹⁵Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil. ¹⁶Let Your work appear to Your servants, and Your glory to their children. ¹⁷And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90 NKJV

Father and Our God and Lord,

This Psalm is attributed to Moses though I am not sure how they can date these Psalms for sure. But it certainly seems to fit with Moses. It acknowledges You as God and Your unchangeable judgement balanced with mercy. It sounds like it was written on a tough day when he was carrying the weight of all the problems the children of Israel were moaning about.

But like Moses, the writer remembers that You have compassion and mercy and calls upon You to change the day and ley Your beauty be upon them.

What a wonderful way to change the day from under the circumstances to working away at the day, by asking for Your beauty to be upon us and the day’s work being established as valuable. That Moses could still see the Your beauty God after 40 years of moaning multitudes in the dessert is a miracle. Help us to not just see Your Beauty but have it rest upon us and in us and with us as the Psalmist prays.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Worship Tuesday 3rd March 2026
An old chorus with new verses and new tune. And I could grow to like this for those quieter moments.

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me
All His wondrous compassion and purity;
O Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine
‘Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

Lyrics: Albert Osborn