DAY SIX: Living in Such a Time as This

1.  Esther 6 and 7 help us to see how these events all have come together for the good of the Jewish people, and how God providentially worked to deliver them.  God is always at work even on those days we can’t even see or feel that He is there.  He will ultimately deal with all the “Hamans” of our life, and bring glory to His name through it.  Our responsibility is, as the old hymn said, to trust and obey, for there’s no other way!  Consider the following familiar passage, and then record how the way God worked in the lives of our main characters makes this all the more real to you personally:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:28-32, nkjv)

2.  It took time for Esther to boldly stand up and identify herself as a Jew.  Some might criticize her for not being as bold as Daniel and his friends earlier in the Captivity years, or others who did so in different situations.  Yet this passage also reassures us, because it shows us we don’t have to be “super saints” to be used by God in a mighty way!  Yet by Esther’s life and example, all around her could see that she was different, and she shined the light of the Lord from her life.  God wants to use you as well in whatever situation you are in, even if it is “only” taking things before Him in prayer.  

Think through your current station in life.  How can you be a better example of Christ both in your words and actions to those around you?  How can you make a difference in the areas of influence you have for godliness, and to reflect Christ in all you do?  How can you start doing this even this week?  Share your thoughts here and with your group so you all can encourage each other in this.

3.  “In a moral universe allbills must be paid.”[xv][xv]  There is a spiritual law of sowing and reaping, and it is demonstrated clearly in the book of Esther.  Haman sowed to his own flesh, his own glorification, and sowed seeds of evil by seeking to destroy others who had done nothing to him.  Haman reaped the ultimate reward for those who live in such a way: Disgrace and death.  Mordecai on the other hand sowed to the Spirit.  He raised Hadassah (Esther) as his own child and imparted godly principles to her.  He humbly sought the Lord and interceded for his people with prayer and fasting.  He led Esther to make the decision to fulfill her calling “for such a time as this.”  He humbly carried out his day to day duties even when he had been elevated by others.  As a result, he reaped life, and as we’ll see in the next chapter, was lifted up to prominence.