For Such A Time As This

One thing I know -- I absolutely LOVE God's Word. I love reading it over and over and over again. There's always something perfect, just for me, and I can't help but want to share it with other people. So, if you're reading this, I want to share with you what I've been reading from Esther.

Haman (boo! hiss! the villain of this story) had been promoted above all of the officials in the kingdom. Obviously this promotion had gone to his head, and he was wanting people to bow down and pay homage to him. This isn't your typical brown-nosing, but it was to give Haman deity, to promote him to beyond-human status. Mordecai the Jew refused to bow. Haman was furious and determined to take care of the situation. 

So, he persuaded the Ahasuerus (the Persian word for king) to sign an edict to "destroy, kill, annihilate" (the Bible's words) ALL of the Jews. Not just Mordecai, but all of his people as well. Haman told a partial truth and twisted it. The Jews are a different type of people with different laws (truth), and they won't keep the king's laws (untruth). Haman's answer was to "kill them, we'll take all their stuff, and I'll pay 10,000 talents of silver to the folks who carry out this business". Xerxes (the king) agreed because ... whatever. He was king and had better things to do, and if he wound up with plunder, even better.

The thing is, when a Persian king issued a law, nothing could erase that law. The king was even unable to go back and change it. It stood firm. So, every single Jew under the rule of the Persian king (which was ALL of them) was facing a death sentence. A huge, insurmountable, impossible thing was before them ... and there was literally nothing they could do about it. And the edict was that this mass killing of a race of people would happen in a year's time. 

I'm sure all of hell celebrated because not only was the enemy getting to destroy all of God's precious people, but Satan's grand plan to wipe out the line of Judah, and the eventual Messiah looked like it was really going to happen. If the book of Esther ended at chapter 3, we'd see that evil would win and there would be no hope for any of us ...ever. 

But there's more to the story! 

Just like there's more to YOUR story. 

There might be huge, insurmountable, impossible obstacles in your situation right now. Satan might think he has you beat. He and his cronies might be planning a huge party of celebration. He might have you feeling like things are hopeless. 

But God!!! 

Esther's story didn't end in chapter 3. The crux of the matter is seen clearly in chapter 4 and verse 14: "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" 

Those huge obstacles in your situation? They might not look like they're going anywhere. Only God knows how all of this story is going to unfold. But this I know. This you can take to the bank. This you can count on. Our God is sovereign. He is not unaware. He is so very, very good. Esther was where she was for a reason, for a purpose. And you, my friend, are too. 

"For such a time as this". Not just the numbers and hands on a clock. Not just a date on a calendar. But the moment that everything has fallen in to place. The instant when all of the planning and preparation is ready. This moment. This instant. This time. Not luck. Not happenstance. Not "this time is as good as any". God's perfect, appointed time.

Our God is working. Our God has a plan ... and His plan includes your good and His glory! Let's lift our eyes today to the One who is sovereign, who is good, who sees the next chapter, who knows how this story is going to end. Let's focus on Him and trust that He knows what He's doing even when we don't. He's still writing our story too! 

P.S. Read the rest of Esther! The good guys win ...

Sunday School Answer?

I had a sweet friend ask me the other day what she should have done about a specific situation. I had been through something similar, so she was hoping I'd have something brilliant to say about her circumstances. I would have loved to impress her with my intelligence and the perfect answer, but all I knew to say was "Jesus".I think that's the one major thing I learned while I was dealing with my own grief and confusion while I walked through circumstances so like hers. I so desperately wanted to fix it, so frantically wanted to make the pain go away. And I prayed often to that end.

God had other ideas.

So, I did what the only thing was that I could think of to do. Honestly, it wasn't that I was being deeply spiritual or incredibly mature, but I was absolutely and totally broken. There was nothing left in me -- no resources, no strength, no wisdom. I determined to look at Jesus as often as my mind would go there. When I was unsure about something, I'd look to Him ... and pray. When I was fearful about something, I'd look to Him ... and pray. When I was angry, or grieving, or happy, or hopeful, I'd look to Him ... and pray. I would take my eyes off of the pain surrounding me and put them squarely on the Lord before me. It was all I was capable of doing.

My situation wasn't corrected overnight. In fact, it was years before I saw any type of difference in the circumstances around me. But, I noticed something interesting during this journey. As long as I prayed and talked with Jesus about what was going on in my life, as long as I gave Him my fears and trusted His care, as long as I waited for His leading and direction, there were changes in me. No changes around me. No softening of the brokenness around me. But changes in me...

I began to see that His voice was more recognizable to me. I didn't have to question whose voice I was hearing, or what the truth was. I recognized it because Jesus and I had spent so much time together in His Word and in prayer. My soul was hungry, greedily so, to draw closer to Him, to learn more of Him, to be more intimate with Him. And the awesome part? He was just fine with all of that!

I always used to laugh at the Sunday school answer of "Jesus". Ask any of these questions in Sunday school and this would be the scenario: "Who's your best friend? Jesus! What do you want more than anything else in the world? Jesus! What is the answer when you're scared? Jesus!"

But, you know what? All of those answers were true and still very much are. He's not just a Sunday school answer -- not just a pat, routine response. The truth is, He is everything I need, everything I want, everything. Period. The storm around me wasn't quieted ... but I was. The brokenness around me wasn't restored ... but I was. I didn't suddenly have wisdom and know what to do in every bit of the journey ... but I knew someone who did. I didn't have control or knowledge of what was ahead ... but I knew someone who did.

Jesus.

Sunday school answer? Maybe so. But for me, He's the only answer.