Learning to Work with God

Esther 2
Background:A situation could be uncomfortable, but we’ve got to stick on to where God is at work at in our lives. These verses from the book of Esther taught me a valuable lesson regarding how to work with God regarding our situations. Esther is in a situation uncomfortable to her. Mordecai is concerned about Esther and eager to see how the situation will work out for her, whether she will become queen or be sent to the other quarter with the rest of the king's concubines.

Lessons

1. The Situation-"v8 Esther also was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem" - We could be in a situation where we don’t have a control like Esther at the king’s harem. You would love the situation to be different but you cannot change it by your own effort and need divine help. For Esther it was a good/bad situation, one way she could be queen(which she is not yet) or she could be sent to the place where the rest of kings concubines lived, to remain just another girl in the crowd.


2. Is the situation God’s will for us whether good or bad -"v9 The girl pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem." Any time we’re in an adverse situation, not right by our own understanding, you didn't cause it and you yet find favor before the enemies, like it was for Esther, and Joseph, and Daniel and many others in the word of God where the devil intended something for harm but God is working to turn the situation around into a blessing, that’s our indication that God knows our situation and He is in it with us to work it out for our good, but we’ve got to learn to wait on Him for the results, for the battle won’t be ours alone, but the Lord’s. Thats our hope and our faith to hold on more closely to the One who is at work in our lives.


3. Constantly watching over -"v11 Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her." Keep an eye on the situation for the way God would work it out. Though the Bible does not mention God in these verses but as the story unfolds we will see God’s clear providence in the situation. Mordecai could have just stayed at home, knowing there were more girls like Esther in the same situation and that she would be ok, but he loved her like a dad and watched over everything that was happening. We can find 2 lessons in this verse, (1) God watching over everything that goes on in our lives like Mordecai took care of his adopted daughter Esther(Est 2:7), we are also adopted of God and he watches over us with great zeal and concern watching every turn of events in our lives.(Eph 1:5) also (2) We must watch our situation to see how God works it out. When we watch our lives continuously paying attention to the way God is working it out for us, we will not only learn to appreciate what God is doing but will also learn to work with God, working out our salvation.

Conclusion: If we are seeking for a higher and closer walk with our Lord Jesus, we’ve got to learn His ways, His place of work, what interests Him, where He is at work. God has given us the privilege to be able to comprehend His work, His business is not hidden from us who believe. John 15:15 "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

How do we apply this lesson in our lives? Well for Esther and Mordecai they had to watch every step of the way, as to how the events would turn out, but for us God has given the Word of God with all the answers we would ever need to know of God’s business in our lives. Its all in there and God has already taught us or given to us in His Word every equipment we would need to live our lives according to His business plan and thereby be blessed and be a blessing.

Why has God made His business plain to us?-Ephesians 3:8-10 says "8Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,"

Isn't that a glorious verse, God is working in us and through us and has made plain His works through our Lord Jesus Christ so that we may know His intentions, which is to make known His wisdom before the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, through His work in our lives!!!...now isn't that an honour. So what am I doing with this knowledge?

Dear Lord Jesus, Please forgive me for I have not been faithful in working with you in Your plan for my life. I was just satisfied in a few things about Your task, knowing I am saved and thats that and that I have certain things for me to perform before I come to you, but Lord You made life more than that for me and that I am to be made a presentation or a demonstration before heavenly realms(kingdoms) of Your mighty work. Help me to see Your work in my life and to pay attention to what You are paying attention to in my life and work side by side with You as I learn and grow to be more and more like Jesus. In the Name of my Living Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ I ask.

Amen

Happy Birthday to me!!

Today is my birthday and I have a millions things to thank my Living and Loving God for...

1. For the most amazing grandparents both mom's side and dad's side I could have ever been blessed with. I say this because we can always choose our friends, but not our family and God blessed me with a fantastic family full of believers who taught me to know the One Who has loved me eternally.
2. For my loving and wonderful and absolutely great parents, who usured me into walking the right way even until now, guiding and directing me through their prayers and love. For being my backbone every time I needed someone to lean on.
3. For my handsome and brilliant brothers who love me so much, though they don't say so, they're actions speak volumes of their love and respect for me.
4. For my hubby dearest, exactly the kind I needed to grow spiritually, actually speaking I wouldn't have started this blog if it hadn't been for him being in my life.
5. For all my believer friends, fellow bloggers who encouraged me right at the moment I needed to continue this blog and knowingly or unknowingly blessing me through their words.

Above all else I am absolutely and humbly grateful to my Living God who has made my life a wonderful adventure from the first day I met Him, until now. There has never been a dull moment and never been a time when He left. Never a time when He judged me when people were ready to point out my faults like that woman whom they wanted to stone, but my Lord stood by me, no judging me but always showing me a way out and accepting me the way I am...something many believers find very difficult to do with other believers new or old, accepting them. He never showed any partiality or favoured someone else more than me, and I am absolutely humbled to say that He gave me chances in my life span even till now to see His wonderful bruised hand work on my behalf through situations when people had left me but my God never left me.
My rock and my salvation and my deliverer is He. My source of victory and sustenance.

Life's Not always Fair but God is in it with you

Background: Esther 1 and 2 tells us an account of Queen Vashti and King Xerxes. The king and queen both give their individual banquets and when the king is drunk he calls for wife to come and be a showpiece before his friends and then later on takes advice from his friends on how to deal with his wife for having disobeyed him. In chapter 2 the king's anger has subsided yet he had not forgiven his wife Vashti. Then to imagine that Esther would be chosen to be queen with such a king like him.

Lessons I learnt

• Unfair events in life-King Xerxes doesn't exactly pose a picture of a wonderful husband. He seems like he doesn't have a mind of his own regarding his relationship with his wife and is found taking suggestions from his court people. What a guy!!! Moreover, it looks to me like this guy thinks people are like things when one doesn't work well for him, get a new one. So he plans to do as per someone else's proposal and orders all maidens in his kingdom to be brought to him and be placed in the care of a guy named Hegai so that he may give them all forms of beauty treatment and the best among them would be made the new queen instead of Vashti. Would you ever want to be a part of such a program??? I know I wouldn't. "8So when the king's command and his decree were proclaimed and when many maidens were gathered in Shushan the capital under the custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken to the king's house into the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women." (Est 2:8). Esther got no choice. Now Esther had already lost her parents all she had was her cousin Mordecai who cared for her like a father and now she was taken away from him to the king's harem for the king's pleasure. Probably not the way she had imagined life would be for her to be a woman for such a king like him.


• Fear in the situation-"10Esther had not made known her nationality or her kindred, for Mordecai had charged her not to do so. 11And Mordecai [who was an [a]attendant in the king's court] walked every day before the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what would become of her." They don't know what will happen tomorrow. What if the king doesn't like her and has her killed? What if they came to know she was a Jew and not from their country? There were a lot of unknowns for Esther and Mordecai in this situation and surely there would be a lot of fear involved.

How did Esther handle this?

• Continued in the situation-Though there were many unknowns in her situation Esther continued in the situation and did just as was asked of her. She didn't try to fight it or resist it. 1 Corinthians 7:20 "Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him." Also I remember "Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Too many times when we are in a testing time, we try to fight it and change it and get frustrated by it because nothing seems to be happening. Since its about the lives of God's people will He not care for His people? Can He not change our situation? He sure can and it will in due time. In the mean time we must continue with our duties listening closely to God, for His directions.
• Obedient to all authority- Esther was brilliantly obedient to the people in authority over her and God made sure nothing irreverent was ever asked of her to do. She obeyed in the fear of the Lord as the Amp Bible says "20Now Esther had not yet revealed her nationality or her people, for she obeyed Mordecai's command to her [[b]to fear God and execute His commands] just as when she was being brought up by him." (Est 2:20) I have seen that too, when you're obedient to authority in the fear of the Lord, He makes sure you are never made to do what is not right. Yet there could be times when you have to say "no". This obedience won her the favor of Hegai the man incharge. Even as she obeyed him in taking with her the gift he had asked her to take before the king and she won everyone's favour, who saw her.

Conclusion:Though we don't see the deliverance right here and now in this chapter, we know how even through such an uncomfortable situation full of fear of an unknown future, God used Esther in the deliverance of His people the Israelites. Along with bringing her and Mordecai many blessings and elevating them to a position of authority as they worked through their respective situations with reverence to God. We have such a God, One who cares and watches, when life brings about unfair things, situations that trigger fear of tomorrow He already has a glorious future planned out through the unknowns of tomorrow and we can make our walk through this unknown season of life with obedience to whoever is in authority as a reverence to God and God will make sure that everything else is made perfect for those who love Him.

Ruth Bell Graham (1920-2007)

Ruth Bell Graham

I owe my salvation to the faithfulness of Rev Billy Graham in sharing so boldly the Word of God, without any fancy, without any lure of monetary benefits I could receive if I follow Jesus, but the pure unadulterated message of God's Love and His salvation.

"Behind every great man is a great woman" and she surely was a great backbone for Rev Billy Graham, I realise now. I am grateful for her faithfulness to Rev Billy Graham all the years he spent away from home, preaching to lost ones like me and calling us to the family of God. Without her selfless sacrifice of keeping her family while Rev Billy was away, I don't know how the ministry would have outlasted so many generations and tenures of presidents USA has seen.

She has silently been a blessing to so many, we would never even be able to comprehend. I am so very grateful. My prayers are with her family.

Esther

Today I begin my study on the Book of Esther. The 2nd book in the Bible to be named after a woman, the other one being Ruth(one of my favourite books in the Bible).

Did you know that "God" is not at all mentioned anywhere in the book of Esther, yet in the way matters proceed in this book, you can clearly see God's hand at work in the lives of the people mentioned in this book.

The book tells us about a woman named Esther, she had lost her parents and was now living with an elderly cousin, Mordecai, who had adopted her to be his daughter. If you read the whole book you will find something special about this woman and how God used her mightily.

Lessons from an Overview of the book of Esther
About Esther

1. A very beautiful woman (Est 2:7)


2. Very obedient to Mordecai (Est 2:20)


3. Respectful and obedient towards her authority (Est 2:15)


4. Found favor with everyone she was with the authorities and the king himself

About God

There is one lesson that just leaped out at me when I read the Book of Esther in its entirety. When Esther competes in the so called beauty pageant for king Artaxerxes, it would have seemed just like something nice for her to do with her life and get somewhere for her well being and have a good life. Remember this is not her country. Then later on circumstances change for her people, the Jews, and God guides her through Mordecai as we see in Esther 4:12-13

"12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

That one brilliant lesson I learnt from Esther about our Living God is this: God is ready and prepared for our circumstances even before they ever happen. He is not surprised, but people are already placed in key positions for His plan of deliverance for our lives at any given circumstance in our lives. Remember Moses was being trained in the house of the Pharoah even before the Israelites groaned for help to God. Jesus already paid the price for our sins even before we were conceived. God never leaves His people no matter what they are going through, He has thought out the whole plan of salvation, deliverance and freedom from all bondage and oppression of His people, beforehand, before they ever reach that point in life. He knows the end from the beginning.(Isaiah 46:10)

Conclusion:Esther might have thought it was for her to be queen and live happily ever after, but it was more than that, it was to change a decree made by the enemy to destroy God's chosen people(the Jews). So also for us who believe in our Living Lord Jesus Christ and those who have listened to His voice and accepted His sacrifice for their lives and obey His commandments, God is never runs out of His plan for us. He knows, He cares and He is prepared for all the situations in our lives even before they occur.