i read through the book of esther today. it was a shorter book, only 10 chapters, and a continuous story, so the reading was easy.
in chapter 4 mordecai had found out about a plan to kill all the jews within a certain part of the world and implored esther, a woman whom he adopted as his own daughter who had now become a queen, to speak out for the jews..."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?"
mordecai was asking, is it possible this is the reason God allowed you to become the queen? could this be the purpose of your life? is this just a coincidence or was this all God's providential plan?
looking back at the story we can clearly see that esther being there was part of God's providential plan...chapter 2 talks about why esther and mordecai were in susa to begin with. they were in this city of the persian and medes because they were some of the jews that were carried away when nebuchadnezzar conquered jerusalem. the book of daniel tells us how darius the mede conquered nebuchadnezzar's descendant and the city of babylon. it all adds up, this is how they got there...they were captives to circumstances beyond their control...captives turned royalty. God had a plan, so creative that we can only see as we look back.
but it doesnt stop there...there is more to the story...there is more that God did to get esther and mordecai into susa. there is more to the words that mordecai spoke to esther.
mordecai was from the tribe of benjamin. do you know why that matters? check out judges 19-21. the men from a city called gibeah did some bad stuff, the rest of israel confronted the tribe of benjamin about these things but they wouldnt do anything about the city. then came war. lots of people died. the other tribes were so offended by what their benjaminite brothers did that they even made a pact with each other to not let their daughters marry any from the tribe of benjamin. they were going to blot out this tribe. compassion came though (from the hand of God) and they made plans for this tribe to not become extinct. God stepped in and provided a way for the remaining people of benjamin to have wives.
so, check this out, God put esther in place as queen for a specific reason, but it didnt happen overnight. it started many years before then. it started with God giving compassion to the tribe of benjamin after nearly being blot out, and carried into the captivity of jerusalem, then the take down of the most powerful empire at that time by the medes and persians, to the disobedience of a queen that all lead to esther becoming queen and living her life for what she was made for.
i find hope in seeing this path. there were tears, distress, agony, even bloodshed...but all the way God was in control and allowing things to happen and take shape for a purpose.
it is the same way for me. every piece of my life has been orchestrated, the good and the painful, to make me, to shape me, for a moment, for this moment.
the words of mordecai have been echoing in my mind before i read them today...i have asked many times why God has let my life unfold the way that it has. why does it have to be this way. why do i have to suffer through this. why cant i have that, or her. why do my dreams have to die.
God's answer is similar to mordecai's words...and who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this.
i am here for such a time as this...i am here to touch lives...i am here because i was meant to be here. i am here to live in a way to brings glory to God.
there will be a day when we can look back at my life, and the life of my boys, and say with great confidence and joy, that just like God directed esther's path that my path was also being directed. i look forward to that day, and for all the days in between.
No comments:
Post a Comment