Living like Esther

[My Scripture-reading habits are sporadic at best, but this summer I've been more consistent, thanks to some free time every morning and "Portals of Prayer" devotions with my husband every day.  Today I just started reading the book of Esther.]

I've read Esther's story before, but like any good book, I get more out of every re-reading of Scripture.  I have a few things in common with Esther, too, and as a result I can relate with her in a way.

There are also a lot of things I do not have in common with Esther: I'm not an orphan, I'm not being trained to be part of a king's harem, I'm not Jewish, and most relieving, the lives of my family and distant relatives are not being threatened by an evil political leader.  (So glad there's no Haman in my life!)

However, there are some important commonalities between Esther's life and mine.  I'm a young woman without much knowledge of what the future holds for me and my family.  In a way, I'm a foreigner in a strange world: as a child of God living in a world darkened by sin, I can imagine how Esther felt living in the king's palace.

Most importantly, even though I don't know exactly what the future holds, God does and he has a plan for me.  I know that he has a job for me to do in his kingdom, and even though I might not know just what that is, I know that God will lead me to serve his purposes.  I can trust that each day I strive to live obediently to God, I am carrying out his purposes for me, even if I never see the results of those purposes.

In Esther's story, she was faced with a terrifying choice: Approach the king uninvited and plead with him to spare the lives of her people, and risk being killed herself as a result, or keep quiet and fail to prevent the deaths of her fellow Jews.  Her uncle Mordecai told her this:

"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape.  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 the royal position for such a time as this?"  (Esther 4: 12-14)

Esther bravely went before the king uninvited, and thereby saved the lives of all the Jews who had been threatened by the king's edict.  As a result of her ending up in a place where she probably didn't even want to be, God used her to rescue his people-- the people from whom Jesus himself was descended.

Did Esther know at the time what the amazing results of her actions would be?  Probably not.

But she trusted God nonetheless, and did what she knew was right even in the face of possible death.

I might never be faced with such a frightening decision.  But each day I can choose to obey God, or not.  Thanks to his grace and love, I have the ability to choose obedience.  His Spirit in my heart gives me the will and strength to do so.  Just think what things might happen, living a life as a child of God!

What Bible character can you relate with?  How have you seen Scripture coming alive in your own life?

Linking with:  Raising Homemakers, Upward Not Inward, Deep Roots at Home, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Trust in God, not in myself

In one of my theology classes this semester we're working on becoming more familiar with biblical commentaries so we know how to use them for reference and teaching in the future.  I have found some useful resources online.  I'd like to share some of those with you so you can use them for your own study and edification, and also to seek some deeper meaning on one of my favorite passages.

(Note: I can't vouch for the theology of all the sources I'm about to cite.  I don't know the doctrinal beliefs of the writers, but I do agree with their commentary on the particular passage I'm studying today.)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.

⁶ 

In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths.

This is Proverbs 3:5-6 in the English Standard Version.

Just looking at the verses themselves, what do they mean?

-God is fully trustworthy.  I can confidently put my trust in him.

-I am not trustworthy and should not rely on my own wisdom and understanding.

-In everything I do I should look to God.

-When I give my life to him he will show me the right way to go.

The commentary in my NIV Concordia Self-Study Bible reads,

"Commit your way to the Lord, like Israel's forefathers, who trusted in God and were rescued...Be ever mindful of God and serve him with a willing and faithful heart...He will remove the obstacles from your pathway and bring you to your appointed goal." * 

I quite like this expansion on the text from the Matthew Henry Concise Commentary:

"We must trust in the Lord with all our hearts, believing he is able and wise to do what is best. Those who know themselves, find their own understandings a broken reed, which, if they lean upon, will fail. Do not design any thing but what is lawful, and beg God to direct thee in every case, though it may seem quite plain. In all our ways that prove pleasant, in which we gain our point, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways that prove uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with thorns, we must acknowledge him with submission. It is promised, He shall direct thy paths; so that thy way shall be safe and good, and happy at last. " (Source)

I love how this passage makes clear our own weakness and inability to do life well on our own.  From experience I have found that when I rely on my own wisdom for decision-making, things usually don't turn out very well.  It's only when I seek to make God's will for me my will, that life goes smoothly.  We should not attempt to bend His will to ours.  Rather, when our decisions aren't working the way we want them to, it's a sign that we should bend our will to His.

This note from the Reformation Study Bible sums that idea up well:

"The Lord will guide you to the final goal of life. God gives wisdom and with it the task of making wise decisions; these are the two aspects of guidance in wisdom teaching. There is no hint of guidance that bypasses the duty of making decisions. But human decisions do not overrule the protection of God’s providence (Gen. 50:20, 21; Ps. 103:14)." (Source)

God doesn't lay our life out in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step instruction sheet.  We have been blessed with free will, and therefore we have the abilities to make our own decisions, whether for good or ill.  But when we put our trust in God and seekHis will, then we will be able to discern the paths he has laid out for us.

When we are in communion with God by being in prayer and in the Word, he makes his desires known to us.  That doesn't mean we'll find the literal answer to our every question in the Bible.  But the Bible does contain guidelines for our life: Love God, love those around us, obey God, trust Him, have faith in Jesus Christ.  When we are putting those things first, the rest will fall into place.

I think the greatest comfort I take from this passage is knowing that God is active in my life, leading me to live as He wants me to.  Because the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, we are constantly able to be obedient to God and His will.  He takes interest in our lives because of Jesus--because of what Jesus has done for us, we are children of God, and as a parent cares about every detail of their child's life, so God cares intimately for us.  Therefore, we can trust him, and put our lives securely in his hands.

How has God taught you to trust Him?  What is one way you can give your life over to Him today?  How do you take comfort from this passage, knowing that God loves you and is active in your life?

Linking with: Upward Not Inward, Deep Roots at Home, Raising Homemakers, We are THAT Family

*Concordia Self-Study Bible, NIV, Robert G. Hoerber, ed., emphasis added, p 950