Esther 1:19
“If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.”
If all you had to look at to view the result of Vashti’s life was the verse above, you would think that she lost in her battle for purity. I’m sure that Vashti didn’t think that her throne would be taken from her when she told her husband that she would not flaunt herself in front of a bunch of drunken men. I wouldn’t be surprised that she thought that doing right would cause God to defend her, but that didn’t happen. If you look at the result of her action without looking at history, then you would say that she was the biggest loser, but she wasn’t.
There are going to be times in life when it seems that you have lost the battle. In those times, you will feel that there is a need to defend yourself so that truth will get out. The Devil will tempt you to attack the ones who seemingly won the battle, but just because you lost doesn’t mean that you are a loser. Just like Vashti, you have to understand that just because you lost it doesn’t mean that you are a loser. In times like these, there are some things you need to remember.
First, losing doesn’t make right wrong. In times when you lose when fighting the battle for truth and right, always remember that your loss doesn’t change what was right and what is true. You can’t let the loss discourage you or allow the Devil to convince you that maybe you were wrong because you lost. There are many times in the Scriptures when God’s people seemingly lost, but that didn’t change that what they were standing for was right. Truth and right are true and right even if they don’t seem to prevail.
Second, there are time when a loss is a win. Vashti will always be remembered as the lady who wouldn’t sacrifice her purity for the sake of position or pressure. I would say she actually won even though she lost the throne. There are times when your loss makes you a winner in the long run. Look at how many people in history have gone down as great defenders of truth in the midst of a lost. There are going to be times when losing the battle is winning the war. The other side may have won the initial battle, but they will lose the war in the minds of decent people and the annals of history.
Third, your loss is a revelation of your character. Vashti’s great character was revealed in this loss. Character is mostly revealed in the midst of a loss. Several years ago my daughter had to take a stand for right in her class. What the teacher taught was in direct contradiction to the Scriptures. When she saw what he taught on the test, she answered according to what the Scriptures taught and not according to what the teacher taught. Yes, she got the answers wrong, but her character was revealed when she wouldn’t change the answer of what Scriptures taught to get a better grade. What you do with truth and right when you know you’re going to lose truly reveals your character. You must always remember that you may lose, but if you did right you have not lost your character.
You may be facing a battle today that you know you are going to lose if you do right. Let me encourage you do what is right. You may lose the battle, but time will reveal that you won the war if you will continue to do right.