Lord, I Need To Know What To Do...Esther, Part 3

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5 NLT

Wisdom...who doesn't need wisdom...and lots of it! Obviously, we all do. But when we talk about "wisdom," what do we really mean? Knowledge, intelligence? A person can have tons of knowledge about something, but not be wise, and a person can have a very high intelligence level, and not have wisdom. 

Wisdom - knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgement as to action (dictionary.com)

Wisdom is so much more than knowledge; it is discernment, good judgement, or, as my granny would say, "horse sense."

I can't even begin to count the number of times I've asked the Lord for wisdom when it comes to my children - from needing to know when to let them cry themselves to sleep as babies to guiding them through those difficult teen years and beyond.

I also can't count the number of times I've been faced with a situation and a sense of panic began creeping upward from my stomach - because I didn't ask for wisdom. I just acted on my own, out of my flesh. Sometimes, that doesn't work out too well!

The point is - God is the source of wisdom, and we are instructed in His word to ask Him for it, and we are promised in His word that He will give it. WOW! That seems so simple....

Queen Esther was faced with a dire situation in which she desperately needed God's wisdom. (To catch up on Esther's story, read Part 1 and Part 2) The king's Prime Minister, Haman, had connived a way to destroy the entire Jewish population and the king had unknowingly given his approval. Mordecai had alerted Queen Esther and implored her to go before the king and plead for her people. But remember:

• Anyone, including the queen, who approached the king without being summoned could be put to death and
• The king was unaware that Esther was a Jew.

We've already discussed how God displayed His Power and Presence through Esther's courage. However, another quality that showed up in Esther's actions was wisdom. Courage is best coupled with wisdom. In fact, wisdom keeps courage from becoming fool hearted.

As Queen Esther dealt with the knowledge given her about the plot against the Jews, we can see seven steps of wisdom that she took.

1. She STOPPED - Esther did not rush headlong into or away from the problem! Before doing anything, she paused and caught her breath - so to speak. It's always wise to take a few minutes or even a few days, if possible, before acting on a rash emotion. There is a difference between "action" and "reaction," and "reaction" usually leads to more problems.
2. She WAITED - Instead of acting on impulse, Esther sent a servant to talk to Mordecai to find out what was really going on (4:5). She wanted the facts before she acted. Patience is a virtue.
3. She CONSULTED - Esther sought advice and counsel from her cousin Mordecai (4:12-14), who had proven his wisdom to her throughout her life. Proverbs 11:14 says, "Where there is not guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory." Seeking godly advice is also a virtue.
4. She PRAYED - After hearing from Mordecai and his plea for her to go before the king, she called for prayer and fasting. She knew her ultimate counselor was God, Himself. This wasn't just a wing and a prayer, either. Esther called for a three day fast for herself, her maids, Mordecai, and all the Jews in the city. She wanted to hear from the Lord. Phil. 4:6-7 - "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace that surpasses all human understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
5. She DECIDED - Time, counsel, and prayer led Esther to a decision that gave her the kind of peace described in Philippians. She was so at peace with her decision that she said, "...I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law, and if I perish, I perish." (4:17) That was God's kind of peace!
6. She ACTED - Esther put feet to her faith in 5:1-2 and went in to the inner court to the king's throne room praying that he would extend his scepter to her, which he did. What if she had known what God wanted her to do, but never acted on it? Knowing God's will doesn't mean much if we don't DO God's will. He gave her the plan, and she carried it out with boldness.
7. She ADJUSTED - Part of wisdom is discernment, and Esther discerned that it would be better to explain her plea at a second meeting with the king and Haman. So she invited them to a another banquet on the following evening. Because she listened with her heart, God's timing played out perfectly. The king learned that Mordecai had thwarted an earlier plot to kill the king but had never been rewarded. And Haman's pride led him to build a gallows on which he planned to hang Mordecai. However, Haman, himself, was hanged on that very spot after the king learned of his deceit. (Esther 6-7) 

God's Power and Presence in Esther's life allowed her to call on His wisdom in that difficult circumstance. And because she did something with that wisdom, the Jews were not annihilated. His wisdom and His will is perfect. She put herself completely in His hands and felt that peace that cannot be explained.

Where does that leave us? Hopefully, we are left remembering that when we are faced with a stressful situation, we should call upon the Power and Presence of our Lord to give us His wisdom. We should never panic and react but pray and act, putting our faith into action, and let God take care of the rest.

God may not need you to save an entire people group, but He does want you to be His hands and feet in the world around you. That includes your family, friends, work place, social circles - wherever life takes you. He has a plan and purpose for your life, and when you are smack dab in the middle of it, you, too, will have that peace that we cannot understand.

For Such A Time As This...Esther, Part 2

All of us, at some time or other, have probably looked around at our circumstances and wondered, "How?" "Why?" "For how long?"

It's only human nature to question, especially when our circumstances are not what we want or are the result of something out of our control. Delving into those questions can be a good thing - as long as we seek the answers from the One who knows all.

Queen Esther is one of those who probably spent much time pondering those questions. If I had been in her sandals, history may have turned out quite differently. Let's look again at Queen Esther's life and glean God's truths for us. (Reading my last post, When Things Are Not What They Seem...Esther, Part 1, will catch you up on Esther's life.)

Esther's life story resonates with two P's - Power and Presence - God's Power and God's Presence. And those two P's are as available to each one of us today as it was to Esther hundreds of years ago.

When I have a decision to make, I often wish I could see what the end result would be if I do this or if I do that. Several years ago, I agonized over leaving my long-time teaching career in order to have less physical stress on my Post-Polio body and, thus, have better quality of life long term. That doesn't seem like a difficult choice; however, it was tremendously difficult for me to make. I loved teaching, I loved interacting with the students, I loved the other teachers I worked with, and I had just finished a graduate degree in instruction. I wondered why He had allowed me to attain that degree and then not be able to use it, but the toughest part was losing a big part of our income. Even though I knew it was God's will for me to leave teaching, I wanted to see the "end" of the story, so to speak. I wanted to "see" how God was going to provide for us and what He had in store for me. But God usually doesn't preview the outcome of our circumstances. We learn to walk that path in faith.

Esther, a beautiful young virgin who had been conscripted into the harem from which the king would choose a new queen, would probably liked to have known the final outcome of her situation. But again, God rarely shows His people the end of the story before we live it out.

No doubt, God's Power and Presence were with Esther throughout her life, but especially during her years at the palace. Those two P's helped hone her into one of the most important figures in Jewish history. God's Power and Presence enabled her to live out His purpose for her life by giving her three distinct qualities.

God's Power and Presence emboldened Esther with Courage. Mordecai, Esther's cousin who had raised her as a daughter, would not bow to Haman who had been promoted to the equivalent of Prime Minister. Mordecai and Esther had both kept their race and religion to themselves, but this was where Mordecai drew the line in the sand. He was a closet Jew who did not adhere to all of the laws of his faith. But when it came to bowing down to someone as to elevate that person as a virtual god in that pagan culture, Mordecai would not cross that line.

Mordecai's defiance so angered Haman that he talked the king into signing a proclamation  that would destroy every Jew in the Persian empire. Esther 1:1 says that King ruled over all from India to Ethiopia - meaning that would take out all of the Israelites - even those who had gone back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.

God's plan for Mordecai and Esther was becoming clear. He wanted to use them to save His people and His plan for the coming Messiah. Mordecai got word to Esther and even showed her a copy of the proclamation. Then he told her what she must do.

• ...he (Mordecai) sent word to Esther that she should go in to king to implore his favor and plead with him for her people...4:8

That was easier said than done. Anyone who went in to the king without being summoned could be put to death - even the queen. One just didn't go knocking on Xeres' door! And she reminded Mordecai of that. She also related that she had not seen the king for thirty days (4:11), and she might have even fallen out of his favor; she didn't know.

• Mordecai's reply - Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. AND WHO KNOW WHETHER YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED ROYALTY FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?" 4:13-14

Mordecai had sensed God's purpose and plan and Esther was beginning to see it as well. But to go in to the king unsummoned would take the kind of courage that can only come from God. After three days and nights of prayer and fasting from Esther and the Jewish population of the city, God's Power and Presence empowered her with courage and with the peace that surpasses human understanding (Phil. 4:7). She sent word to Mordecai:

• ...I will go in to the king, and if I perish, I perish...4:16

Those words and that attitude is similar to what we see expressed by Paul in Philippians 1:21:  For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Well, Esther did go in to the king, and he reached out his royal scepter to her and allowed her come in and speak. After preparing two banquet feasts for him and Haman, she pleaded for her people, exposing Haman's scheme to annihilate the Jews. The king recalled his proclamation, had Haman hanged, and elevated Mordecai to Haman's old position.

Esther's courageous step of Faith saved the children of Israel and allowed God's plan for His people to continue and, paved the way for the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Only God's Power and Presence could supply the courage to approach the king unsummoned.
Only God's Power and Presence could supply the courage to reveal her race and faith to the king.
Only God's Power and Presence could have put her in the palace for such a time as this...

My friend, where are you today? You may be in a place that is not of your choosing, that is not comfortable or easy. You may be faced with a valley so dry you don't think you can make it through to the other side. You may be faced with a mountain so steep, you don't think you can climb over it.

The truth is you can't make it through the dry valley or over the steep mountain without the Power and Presence of the Lord in your life and the courage that He provides.

• And my God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19

As for me, these past 12 years since I left the classroom have been some of the richest of my life! God has provided part-time work in curriculum and instruction, where I did get to use my degree - see how God knew the plan before I did? I've also had the opportunity to occasionally teach English at our local Christian university, which I wouldn't have been able to do without that extra degree. Those things have helped replace my lost income. But what's even sweeter is the time I had to spend with my two girls before they graduated and married, the time I've had to teach Bible study, the time I've been able to give to ministries the Lord has guided me to.

God has taught me through Esther's life experiences and my own, that whatever the circumstances, I should be aware of God's purposes (even though I won't always understand or even see them), and be eager to be filled with His Power and Presence. Then I, too, can say along with Mordecai, who knows but that I am where I am for such a time as this!

• Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

We will look at Esther's other two qualities next time.