For Such a Time As This

Read: Esther 4:1-17

“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” - Esther 4:14

I love this phrase in Esther where Mordecai tells Esther to view her life as being part of God's wonderful plan for her and His people. “You have come to this royal position for such a time as this.” Do you realize that God created your life with a built-in purpose as well?

In Ephesians 2:10, Paul says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” That is so exciting to me. As the Master Potter, God uniquely designed us and placed each of us in the world at this exact time in order to carry out His will (Jeremiah 18:1-6; Isaiah 45:9, 64:8; Psalm 100:3; Romans 9:20). What happens if we live according to our own will and neglect the works God created us to perform?

Queen Vashti gives us a perfect example. She is the Queen of Persia, a woman with immense influence. She shapes her world by her words and example and everyone in the kingdom, including her husband, knows it (Esther 1:17-18). I think she must have been the first recorded Women’s Liberation Movement leader! In the Biblical account of her life, Vashti is in the middle of a party, which she threw for all the women of the palace.

Her husband, King Xerxes, commanded seven of the chamberlains who waited on him to bring Queen Vashti to display her beauty to the people and nobles. He knew better than to ask her himself, or to send even one or two of his chamberlains. So he sent seven emissaries to do his bidding! The Queen could not be bothered, however, and refused the King’s wishes. Of course, this act of rebellion and disrespect came at a high price to her. She lost her throne in the palace, her position in the court and her authority in the kingdom.

There are three different types of people in the world. Some, like Queen Vashti, live for themselves, caring little about anyone else. They focus their entire being on climbing the corporate ladder of success or amassing exorbitant financial gains or serving their own family. They build their own kingdom rather than furthering the Kingdom of God. They have no eternal focus and little to no spiritual desire. They disobey and deny King Jesus with their life, and give Him no alternative but to deny them before His Father (Matthew 10:33).

Other people exhibit a bit more spiritual desire and they give God a fraction of their time and money. Some of them worship with other Believers one or two hours a week on Sunday morning. They may even pray when they are in need, but they rarely spend time praising God or reading their Bible. I saw a church sign during our travels that relates to this group of people, “God does not want just weekend visits with you; He wants full custody of your life.”

Lastly, we have people like Esther, who risk their whole life for God and His people. Prior to the King choosing her to take Vashti’s place, Esther cherished her own dreams for her life. However, she gave up her individual aspirations and stepped out with faith and courage for the Lord’s purpose. God used her to save His chosen people, the Jews. God created Esther for only one defining moment in her entire life; but, in return, God granted that Esther live the rest of her days in luxury as the Queen. Faithful people like Esther seek God’s purpose. They live their life fulfilling His will for them and reaping His benefits (Psalm 103:2, 116:12).

God’s purposes shall come to pass and His plans will unfold throughout the ages, just as He decreed them before time ever existed (2 Timothy 1:9). However, He only uses willing vessels to fulfill His intentions in the earth. You and I may never have a noteworthy role in history like Queen Esther did, but God needs us to serve Him in the place where He created us to live. Our little microcosm in the world is our mission field. This is where God anoints us to serve Him with our whole body, soul and spirit. We may have a lifelong calling, or just one important moment in time like Esther; but if we respond to His direction, He will bless us abundantly in every way.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, as we listen to the direction of Your Spirit moment by moment throughout the day, You put us in the right place at the right time to fulfill Your purposes and to further Your Kingdom in the earth. If we fail to pay attention, and focus instead on our own dreams and pursuits, we may miss Your calling. Then You will choose someone else to bless in our place. Help us to follow Your Spirit and to hear Your direction for each of moment of time.

Thought for the Day:

God birthed each of us in our current life station “for such a time as this”.

 

Good Grief!

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“I will lead the blind (those who have lost their way) by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

From the first moment of loss, the human soul is numb, in shock and probably in denial. We expect our loved one to come walzing back through the door at any moment, dispelling our fears that this loss will last forever. We dream about them coming in and sweeping us off our feet and proclaiming that it was all a misunderstanding. We have no feelings at all during this time. We are in limbo, holding our breath and living in slow motion. God programmed our soul this way in order to protect us from facing the impact of our loss all at one time. There comes a time, however, when the nerves in our soul begin to feel, the reality of our loss sinks in and we have to face the future without our loved one.

At this point, dreams or nightmares may start. This is your soul’s way of dealing with your pain. Your soul uses your time asleep to process your thoughts and feelings in order to help you to make decisions that are necessary at this time in your life. Most experts advise that a grieving person not make any major or life changing decisions at this time. It is so easy, during a time of grief, to fly off the handle or to make a knee-jerk reaction that may affect you adversely for the rest of your life.

Grief comes in waves after a loss. We go through stages of denial that it happened, anger over being abandoned, bargaining for a way out, having to live alone, depression over what we cannot control and finally acceptance and hope for a fulfilling future (Jeremiah 29:11). Grief is a very personal issue and we all experience it differently. Give yourself permission to heal according to your own schedule, not someone else’s.

Some people go through some of these stages of grief more than once, experiencing them in a different light or a new level this time. Other people get stuck on one stage and cannot seem to get free from it. Some never go through all of the stages, because they process their grief differently than others. One thing that we can always count on is God offers hope to the hopeless and joy for our mourning (Psalm 30:11).

God also gave us a place in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12; Romans 12: 4-5). No matter how grave our loss, we are still an integral and vital part of His Body. Though we may need to step back from service until we have the emotional and physical energy to serve again, we can still worship with believers and enjoy what is going on in our local Body. Most of people the people we see there had a lifetime of grief and loss as well, and they can relate to how we feel. They will have empathy and counsel for us too (Luke 22: 31-34).

Have you ever given your self permission to cry? Crying does not indicate weakness. It is actually very wise to allow your self to cry. Grief does not diminish if you ignore it. You do not have to hide your sorrow, even from your self. Do not pretend that you are fine. Grief changes everything about us. There are monumental issues that need your attention. They will not be dealt with if you ignore your loss. Only as grief is expressed can it truly heal.

Tears wash away the sorrow that tries to take root in our soul, and sets us free from issues that would otherwise fester and grow and possibly even makes us physically ill. Journaling is a very helpful tool, not only to rid your soul of your negative emotions, but also to give you a clear picture of how you really feel. Our ultimate healing comes when we turn our pain over to God. He will work all things out for out good (Romans 8:29). His joy is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10; Psalms 28:7). Confidence in His love and provision give us hope for our future (Jeremiah 29:11).

There is a very real tendency as we grieve, whether from death or divorce, to marry the first kind person that reaches out to us. They care about you and you really miss the companionship of your mate. This is called rebounding. It is very lethal, because it takes you out of the fire and into the frying pan. Rebounding unites you with someone to whom you are unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14).

The person may actually claim to believe in Christ, but you may be total opposites and your souls will clash. You may find your soulmate, but spiritually you are incompatible. You may have a physical attraction to this person, but you share little in soul and spirit. Take your time before commiting to a new relationship. Date many different people and really get to know someone before comitting the rest of your life to them. Wait for God to bring along His intended mate for you. It’s worth the wait.

When you least expect it, something familiar may cause a flashback to your former life, which may trigger unwanted grief. Tears and fears may arise to interupt your day. This is God’s way of allowing you to process the emotions within you, adjust to your loss and eventually to heal. If you fight the pain, the grief will persist. If you go with the pain and feel it fully, you will grieve and get past it. Then, the next time you experience that trigger it will not affect you as deeply.

Finding comfort in artificial means, such as unhealthy relationships and controlled substances will also prolong your grief. Time alone gives you time to journal and get in touch with the true feelings of your soul. The writers of Psalms felt these same feelings. Reading the Psalms often, brings comfort to know you are not the only one feeling this way. Reach out to the comfort of people with positive attitudes. Take a class and make new friends. Hang out with other divorcees or widows/widowers.  

If the idea of being home alone is troublesome for you: adopt a pet; rent movies you always wanted to see, but your mate did not; go to church services whenever they are available; volunteer at a soup kitchen or at the hospital or other charity events; invite the grandchildren for a slumber party; go on the excursions you already planned to attend with your mate – take a friend if you do not want to go alone. Do anything that feels comfortable to you and that makes you happy.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, no matter who we are or what we lost or how we feel, we can always pour out our grief to You. You are the One who loves us, keeps us as the apple of Your eye and laid down Your life for us. You are a strong tower and You are just waiting for us to run into Your everlasting arms.

Thought for the Day:

Comfort is just a prayer away.