Esther 2:17 - 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.
Ever been attracted to anything? I'm not talking about desiring to get something or someone, but feeling drawn towards something.
When I was in high school, there was this new device out from Radio Shack that our school had purchased and was using in math class for some of the students --- it was called a "computer" (a Radio Shack TRS80 computer). I knew nothing about them and had no idea how they worked, but everything in me was fascinated by these devices. (Yes - I know it REALLY shows how old I am!) So I did whatever I could to be a part of the math classes that used them, and wrote my first ever program. It wasn't something I had to have --- it was something that drew my attention.
Similarly, years later I was working in a grocery store as a bagger, with dozens of other cashiers & baggers, while going to college. There was this one female cashier that just grabbed my attention --- she was beautiful and different, and even though there were other pretty girls in the store and many in college, I found my attention drawn to her. For whatever reason, she attracted me.
There is a difference between lust and attraction - lust is wanting to have something to control it and attraction is wanting to be with something to know it. Control is selfish, Know is selfless.
Of all the gorgeous women surrounding King Xerxes, it was the one that he wanted to KNOW that attracted him - Esther. She became the standard by which he measured every other woman. Not that she was the most beautiful (although she may have been), but the one who most attracted him. God has a funny way of doing that with us - there's not a logic to it - we find ourselves attracted to hobbies, career paths, and people differently. It's part of His design, for His purposes. God used the attraction to pair up Xerxes with Esther, and save both of their lives through the relationship.
Lusting after someone/something does not satisfy, it only creates an addiction for more - but attraction tends to grow us in ways we never understood, and often not by HAVING the attraction, but by serving through it.
My attraction to computers led to an incredible career that has sent me on a journey. It led me to a career, to several of my best friends/mentors in life, and to a way of serving the Kingdom. And my attraction to Dianna has also sent us on a journey together that God has used for His glory in both family and ministry. Pay attention to those attractions --- and follow the Lord's path in them. (Sidebar: and make sure you follow attractions using the Lord's methods/timing!)
What attractions are you sensing these days? Is it truly an attraction or a lust? Are you letting God lead you in the attraction to grow you, or trying to control it for yourself?
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