Before There Was Esther
This is not just another “for such a time as this” devotion.
How could it be after we just walked through Nehemiah? And I don't know about you, but I need more than that.
Nothing against all of those messages. Esther 4:14 is powerful, and we're going to get there. But there is so much more to Esther than looking at ourselves and wondering what big moment God has prepared for us.
Esther isn't about making us the hero of the story. It's about noticing God. Its about finding him. And that's what makes this book so interesting. God's name isn't mentioned once.
There is no burning bush, no prophet declaring a word from the Lord, no sea splitting open and no fire falling from heaven. In fact, Chapter 1 doesn't even have Esther in it.
It starts with King Xerxes throwing an enormous party and showing off everything he has, his wealth, his kingdom and his power. Then he decides he wants everyone to see his beautiful queen too.
Vashti refuses to come.
And everything changes.
We know what's coming because we've read the story. We know another queen will eventually sit in her place. We know her name will be Esther. We know what Esther will eventually do.
But nobody in Chapter 1 knows any of that.
To them, it's a banquet that went sideways, an angry king, a queen who said no and a bunch of men scrambling to figure out what to do about it.
But God is already working.
Before Esther ever walks into the palace, circumstances are shifting that will eventually make room for her. Before Haman makes his plan, before Mordecai asks Esther to speak and before an entire people are threatened, pieces are already moving into place.
But Nobody can see it yet.
How often do we stare at things that don't make sense because we're trying to understand the whole story from the chapter we're standing in.
I've done it. I've looked at closed doors, changes I didn't ask for, delays, detours and endings and wondered, God, what are You doing? Then I've looked back later and realized those moments weren't as disconnected as they felt while I was living them. His fingerprints were there the whole time.
The book of Esther reminds us that we don't have to understand everything God is doing to trust that He is still doing something.
Sometimes we're standing in Chapter 1 demanding an explanation for something that won't make sense until Chapter 8. God seems hidden, but He is never absent.
This isn't a story about people having everything figured out. It's a story that allows us to watch God quietly weave together people, decisions, interruptions and circumstances they couldn't possibly understand from where they were standing.
So as we begin Esther, I'm not looking only for my “such a time as this” moment.
I'm looking for His fingerprints.
Because hidden does not mean absent.
Love Pastor Mandy
MandiesDandies / Ark of Hope
Daily Reading Esther Chapter 1
#HiddenNotAbsent #Esther1 #BookOfEsther #HisFingerprintsAreEverywhere #GodIsStillWorking #TrustHisHeart #ArkofHope
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