The Hand of God - May 12

Read Esther 4:13-16

Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

Reflect

Have you ever recognized God’s providential hand at work in retrospect? How did that experience impact your faith?

Sometimes, we just can’t perceive the hand of God in situations as they occur in real time. We have to make decisions based on limited information and a whole lot of variables. As Christians, we know that Jesus is victor and that in the end, we’ll reign with Him forever. Our eternal future is secure!

In the meantime though, we don’t know what the future holds for our lives here on earth. What are believers supposed to do when our circumstances are dark, difficult, and confusing? What do we do when it seems like God isn’t working?

Perhaps we could learn from the account of Esther. The book of Esther is unique because God’s name isn’t mentioned at all. That may seem surprising but as you read through the story, His presence, His providence, is felt in every verse.

Most scholars believe that the book of Esther was written either during or soon after the reign of Ahasuerus, or Xerxes, a king of Persia in 486-464 B.C. During this time in history, the Jewish people had long been conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians and dispersed throughout the ancient Near East. The Persian empire had now taken over much of that region.

Hadassah, also known as Esther, was a young Jewish orphan who was raised by her older cousin, Mordecai. They lived in Susa, a capital city of Persia. Due to an edict of the king, Esther was taken into the king’s harem and eventually became the queen of Persia.

Mordecai became aware of a high ranking official’s plot to annihilate all of the Jews in the empire. So, he urged Esther to plead for her people before the king. The problem was, no one, not even the queen, was allowed to approach the king unless they were summoned. By approaching the king to ask him to spare her people, she could be immediately executed. Plus, she would expose herself as a Jew, making her just vulnerable to the edict as all the other Jews.

In today’s passage, Mordecai reminded Esther that if she stayed silent, she likely wouldn’t be spared from the genocide anyway. He also expressed confident faith that the Jews would not be completely wiped out. If Esther didn’t try to save her people he knew someone else would. Even though he never mentioned God’s name, he seemed to reject coincidence and embrace the idea that God appointed Esther to be queen of Persia “for such a time as this.” With incredible courage, Esther agreed to put her life on the line to save her people. And ultimately, she was successful.

As God’s people were walking through these events, they were probably distressed and confused. They had to have been wondering where God was and what He was up to. But God proved to be on His throne, working behind the scenes and through His faithful people. He was acting, as He always does, in His providence.

God’s providence means that nothing happens randomly. Gotquestions.org explains, “God’s purposes may be hidden from us, but we can be assured that every event has a reason behind it…the doctrine of providence holds that God quietly and invisibly works through the natural world to manage events.”

Knowing this, we can have peace that God is in control even when everything feels out of control. And, we’ll know what to do when it seems like God isn’t working—trust, obey, and faithfully follow Him anyway.

Respond

Lord, I confess that sometimes it feels as if You are far away. I can’t always see Your hand at work and I wonder what You are up to. Even so, I trust You because I know that You are good and You are sovereign. When the world seems dark, disturbing, and confusing, help me to trust You even more. Amen.

Reveal

Is there someone in your life who is struggling with uncertainty or confusion?  Reach out to them today to remind them that God is present in their life and at work in all things. Then, pray with and for them to have patience and peace in following Him!