Mordecai had to remind Esther that, although she was a queen surrounded by luxury, ultimately she had been placed there by God for such a time as this. “God’s intent is to educate his people by affliction, and we must not therefore dream that an event is not providential because it is grievous.” We are to enjoy the blessing but the affliction is also providential.
“Then Mordecai told them to answer Esther, "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace, more than all the Jews. For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14, KJV) “Who knows, Brother or Sister, whether you are put in your family to save your family? Who knows whether you are made to live on your street to bless that street? Who knows whether you have that job so that you can be a blessing to your co-workers? Who knows whether you are put into that nation to save that nation? Yes, put into the world, in Christ’s name, to save the world? Aspire to great things for God!” (Charles Spurgeon) Instead of asking God to remove the affliction, to move the mountain, perhaps we should inquire, “What practical purpose is served where God has placed us right now?” We know that it is much larger than we are. Let us look around today and assess God’s blessings. With a grateful heart, we do not take our blessings for granted. And just like Esther, we are reminded that if we are not willing to allow God to use us after all of the learning, all of the word, all of the prayer, all of the praise, then the “enlargement and deliverance will arise to His people from another place.” Dear Lord, we commit ourselves, our marriage, children, grandchildren, relationships, job, home, church, community, all to you. For, it was you who provided these blessings. We are where we are, at this moment, for a reason. Please help us to submit to you so that you can use us right where we are, in whatever situation we find ourselves in. “Dismiss us not from your service Lord, but train us for your will, for such a time as this.” Let God Use You! GiGi❤️
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“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 ESV)
I know we wish tomorrow would hurriedly come when today is overwhelming, but “no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37 ESV). If we can endure our hardship as a soldier we will obtain the prize. In this life we can have peace of mind. Spurgeon wrote: “Let us expect as followers of Christ to meet with strong temptations, fierce persecutions, and severe trials, which will lead to stern conflicts. These present evils are for our future good: their terror is for our teaching…Our joys are often found in the former places of our conflicts. We gather our honey out of the lions which have been slain for us or by us.” It is our past victories that can fuel our present joy. Let us not rush today by, even when it is full of challenges and not meeting our expectations. Today is necessary, along with its pain and disappointment. Let us face our challenges head on because the Spirit God has given us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7), so that we can endure hardship. We are overcomers! GiGi❤️ “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1:22)
If we can endure our trials and challenges without committing a sin, then we can proclaim victory. What a blessing it is to be able to “bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Matthew 5:44) Oh, how we honor God when after someone has struck us on the right cheek, we turn to them the other, choosing not to respond, choosing not to resist. (Matthew 5:39) We have learned that a “soft answer does turn away wrath.” (Proverbs 15:1) and that it is possible to “repay evil with blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9) Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Satan did not care what Job suffered, so long as he could but hope to make him sin; and he was foiled when he did not sin. He must have regretted that he tried him, when he found that he could not make him sin…If in enduring your particular trouble, my dear friend, you do not fall into sin, you are more than a conqueror over him that hateth you. The arch-enemy will fly away confounded from you, if you are able to resist him while darkness covers your soul. If you conquer him in your hour of grief, you conquer indeed. It’s a blessed thing when we can do good when things are going well, but oh what a blessed triumph it is when we can do good when life overwhelms us. GiGi❤️ “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)
Some people are comfortable with darkness. Once grace has been operationalized we are no longer comfortable with darkness. Darkness symbolizes the “fallen nature of man, ‘chaos and ‘without form and void,’ with darkness thick and sevenfold covering all. The Lord begins His work upon man by the visitation of the Spirit, who enters the soul mysteriously, and broods over it, even as of old He moved upon the face of the waters. He is the quickener of the dead soul…The Lord sends into the soul, as His first blessing, light. The Lord appeals to man's understanding and enlightens it by the gospel…light came into the world at first by the Word "God said, 'Let there be light.'" Charles Spurgeon And so it is when darkness presents itself and tries to entangle us again in chaos, we must remember that the Lord spoke light into existence on the first day. Spurgeon notes that our Lord spent a whole day on it because it symbolizes His power and His grace. Let us not take the light for granted. Not everything is of God, not everything is for us. Let us be careful to recognize darkness in people, places, and things for God does not dwell there. Sometimes you are facing that situation just because you dwell in the Light. Light and darkness cannot share together. GiGi❤️ It is a headache for parents when a child is obstinate and contends with righteousness. It is difficult for teachers when the student resists instruction. It is challenging for employers when an employee defies protocol.
Spurgeon speaks of David having a teachable spirit, "O God, You have taught me from my youth: and until this time have I declared Your wondrous works." (Psalm 71:17). Mary demonstrated a teachable spirit as she chose the better things and sat at the feet of Jesus and listened in Luke 10:39. It is a humble position to stake in life to, no matter our age, be teachable. I pray that this week we will all just sit at the feet of Jesus and rest our minds and bodies, taking time to hear from Him. I pray that whatever He reveals to us to do, we will accept it as truth. We can then embrace that teachable spirit and like David declare His wondrous works. Let us not resist instruction but lean into the righteousness of God. There is a time when we need to just listen. GiGi❤️ “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” Luke 6:45.
When we respond or react we can only draw from what’s in us. At that moment it’s too late for a fresh and new reaction, we would have had to put in the time and work to prepare the heart for good works so that God can bring it back to our remembrance. The absence of doing the work means we keep responding the same way to challenges and getting the same results. People know it too because our responses define who we are, “For every tree is known by its own fruit,” Luke 6:44. At the center of every response is what’s actually in our hearts. It reveals to us who we really are and is a metric to determine who we want to be. Let’s do the work today. GiGi❤️ “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” (Revelation 22:12)
When the angels of the Lord visited Lot there was a sense of urgency as they provided him with instructions to flee the failing city. Although Lot did not have all the information he might have desired and was possibly left with many questions and concerns, the urgency required him to trust God fully without having all the details. It was time to move. We’ve watched the movies where the monster is approaching and the woman grabs her face and screams. We sit on the edge of our chairs and yell, “Run, don’t just stand there!” For some, serving God is not convenient and procrastination can be a person’s worst enemy. When the Lord beckons us to come we must do so with urgency. When he tells us to go we must not hesitate. There is no time for hesitation when it comes to the things of God. He comes quickly. The Lord will not wait for us to make up our minds when He sends His angels to come rescue us. And if we hesitate, and look back longingly at what He is delivering us from, we may not escape. Let’s not loiter today, obedience is better than sacrifice. GiGi❤️ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).
God wasn’t looking for a perfect vessel when he chose Abraham to be the father of all nations. He was aware of Moses’ imperfections when he chose him to lead his people out of bondage. Despite David’s weaknesses, God considered him a man after his own heart. These examples are proof that our weaknesses are not a hindrance but the very things that compel us to lean on, and trust in God, who is the source of our strength and success. “My Brothers and Sisters, glory in your infirmities—thank God for your weaknesses! There is room for God when you are empty! But when you are so full, and so strong, and feel you are capable, you will attempt life without God and the result will be failure.“ Let’s not be ashamed of our weak moments, those times when we struggle, mess up or feel empty. Let us be like David and cry out to God in our distress because then, and only then is our “strength made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Let us not regret or be ashamed of our weaknesses. They are God opportunities. GiGi❤️ “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7)
When we are abiding in Christ we do not need a lengthy prayer or a loud one. Prayer is about substance. Prayer is about communing with God. It is not a show of spiritual prowess but of faith. Every time we look around, prayer is needed. We should be praying without ceasing. We should never tire of it. Surely, our God never tires of hearing it. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.” (1John 5:14) “Note, that the fruit of our abiding is not only the exercise of prayer, and a sense of the necessity of prayer, but it includes liberty in prayer: ‘Ye shall ask what ye will.’ Some brethren pray by the yard; but true prayer is measured by weight, and not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a prayer full of elaborate words and of great length.” Charles Spurgeon It is faith that moves God, not the size of our prayer. GiGi❤️ "He was moved with compassion." (Matthew 9:36)
Showing compassion is being moved by the suffering and pain of others. “It literally means to suffer with.” When one can identify with another’s pain or human experience, there is a feeling of warmth and caring, along with a desire to lift up or assist. These same characteristics have been found to improve our mental health when we can apply them to ourselves. “Self-criticism will turn failure into despair, according to Stanford research. But self-compassion will help you view disappointment as a learning opportunity” and do things differently moving forward. It’s saying to ourselves what we would say to someone else. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Then, while he tarried in the world, a man among men, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, he was constantly moved with compassion; for he felt all the griefs of mankind in himself. He took our sicknesses and carried our sorrows: he proved himself a true brother, with quick, human sensibilities. He gave up all the comforts of life—he gave his life itself; he gave his very self to prove that he was moved with compassion.” The Lord’s great compassion moved him to sacrifice all for us. Yet, we cannot glorify Him if we are broken and defeated. He has paved the way for us to express similar compassions even toward ourselves. We have the power to turn self-criticism into self-compassion. GiGi❤️ |
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