My husband Chris and I have been asked to write a weekly devotional as a prayer guide for our church. As you may know, I stopped writing blog posts a couple of months ago after asking the Lord where He wanted my focus. Just write, I heard over and over again. So, I did. I stopped the social media frenzy and the struggle to write a weekly post that few people read.
But now that this door has opened, I’ve decided to share the weekly devotionals as a blog post. I pray that you will be blessed. I will tweak them slightly so they will pertain to a wider audience than our little church.
A Devotional from the Book of Esther:
Last week, our church’s Sunday school lesson came from the Book of Esther. Although God’s name isn’t mentioned once, His hand is woven throughout every chapter.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the story of Esther, most of the Jewish people were still in exile during this short book, but God was clearly working to keep His promises and to protect His people. And he used a young woman named Esther to teach them (and us today) how to rest in the providence of God.
But that doesn’t mean resting by being apathetic and uninvolved. We are to do our part—just as Esther did. Just as her cousin Mordacai did.
Every story has a pivotal turning point, and 4:14 is that for this story when Mordecai tells Esther, “If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”
“For such a time as this.”
Do you believe in God’s perfect timing? Did He not allow us to live in this exact time and place? God has given us this particular moment in history. He’s given us this time. The devil is fighting, but God has gone before us and is standing behind us. Be encouraged. We have a place in His plan.
And it starts with prayer.
Esther was a queen, which put her in a royal position. But as followers of Jesus Christ, we are also royalty. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”—1 Peter 2:9
Our prayers have the power of Jesus Christ backing them.
Pray with me: Heavenly Father, we first ask that You keep us safe as we weather this storm—both the literal storm (which the Southeast is facing at this moment) and the figurative one washing over our country and our world. We pray that our country’s leaders, our community, and our families will have godly wisdom and divine protection. Guide us in how we are to respond to Your call so we can be instrumental in Your plan and purpose for our lives. We pray this in the name of the most holy Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Comments 1
Thank you both for doing this. Love you both!