God uses our LIFE EXPERIENCES to PREPARE us!
May 21
Bible Reading: Esther Chapters 1-3
God uses our LIFE EXPERIENCES to PREPARE us!
"Now when the turn came for Esther the
daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter,
to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king's eunuch,
the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of
all who saw her." (Esther 2:15)
The book of
Esther is the only book of the Bible
that does not mention or even allude to God. Even though God’s name does not
appear in the book, God’s purposes do and His fingerprints are evident through
all the events that happen in the book. There is a tragedy waiting to happen to
God’s chosen people, the descendants of Abraham, which would have prevented
God’s eternal covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David from coming
into fruition. So, God worked behind the
scenes and orchestrated events that would prevent the total annihilation of
the Jewish race!
The Book of
Esther tells how a young Jewish woman in Persia found out what God wanted her
to do. Esther was the orphan daughter of Abihail and an unnamed mother, who was
adopted by her cousin Mordecai of the tribe of Benjamin. She became part of the
royal harem and eventually married Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), the king of Persia. The
selection of Esther (2:1–18) and the detection of the plotters (2:19–23) may
seem to be events that do not belong together, but they were both part of God’s
plan to save His people. Esther’s coronation was a grand public affair, while
Mordecai’s service to the king was rather private. But God would use both Esther’s
position and Mordecai’s service to fulfill His purposes!
God never wastes a life. People may waste
their own lives, but God always has a purpose for His people. We may think that
God only works in the “important”
events of life. However, all events in life are important if we are living in
the will of God. Mordecai was not immediately rewarded for saving the king’s
life, but God would take care of it at the right time (chapter 6). We need to obey God and do our service
faithfully and let God take care of the consequences!
God uses our experiences to prepare
us for what lies ahead. Often it is not until later that we see how God has worked out the events
and prepared us for a situation. God doesn’t waste the experiences in our lives
for He knows what we are doing, what we are learning, and how He is going to
use all of that in the future. God is always preparing us for His kingdom, so
when the signals are blurred and we are uncertain which way to go, let’s keep
on praying, getting good spiritual counsel and not stop what we are doing. We need to trust God to steer us to the
place where He wants us to be!
A sailboat’s
rudder is useless while the sails are down. We need to set the sail and get
going. We will get the direction when the wind fills the sails. As the
direction of the wind changes, our boat will also change course accordingly. Sometimes,
God may have to change our life course and when He does, let us trust His
purposes and plan for our lives!
Let us trust
God to be God, and let Him direct the steering wheel of our lives. He is using
our ‘life experiences’ to prepare us
for what lies ahead, and to fulfill His Master Plan for our lives!
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
