Tag: Providence

Posted on

Behind the Scenes

Daily Reading

Esther 6-10

Daily Thought

The players in this story include King Ahasuerus of Persia, his queen Esther, her cousin Mordecai, and Haman, the king’s right-hand man. God is behind the scenes, hidden. 

Haman hated Mordecai and as the first half of the story closes, “his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, ‘Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.’ This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made” (Esther 5:14). 

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. ~Proverbs 19:21

The following verse opens Act Two: “On that night the king could not sleep” (Esther 6:1).  This is the author’s whisper: God is up to something. God is not mentioned, but God is not absent. Haman had gallows built fifty cubits high, and you can sense the coming irony. These gallows meant by Haman for righteous Mordecai are meant by God for wicked Haman. 

In chapter 2, Mordecai had done a good deed unrewarded, and on that night in chapter 6, “the king could not sleep, and he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king” (Esther 6:1). He asked for the reading of the Chronicles (a cure for insomnia?) and learned how Mordecai had revealed a traitorous plot and rescued the king. Mordacai was summoned and honored, and Haman’s plot was revealed, “so they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai” (Esther 7:10).

The righteous is delivered from trouble,
and the wicked walks into it instead. ~Proverbs 11:8

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, over and over again You remind me, as I sow, so shall I reap. I should live life accordingly. Looking ahead, I shall do today what will produce a good tomorrow. Thank You for teaching me what is right, and for changing my heart so that I now desire Your ways instead of my own, some of the time, at least, and more and more as I make a habit of holiness.

Help me remember always that this world is Your creation and Your design and it works Your way. I enjoy life when I enjoy You and live according to the joy of Your Word.

Amen

Daily Question

How can you make sure your plans are in line with the plans of God?

Posted on

Do It Anyway

Daily Reading

Esther 1-5

Daily Thought

Haman was the king’s right hand, and he reveled in his position. All bowed before him, except one. Mordecai the Jew refused to bow and remained standing. This infuriated Haman and he plotted Mordecai’s death, but not just his–he sought to destroy all of Israel, for they were an obstinate people. They bowed before no one except God alone. 

Meanwhile, Ahasuerus, king of Persia, needed a new queen (he had discarded the old one), and the virgins were paraded before him. Among them was Esther, a Jew but no one knew that. She was also Mordecai’s cousin and adopted daughter, but no one knew that either. Ahasuerus “loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen” (Esther 2:17). The book of Esther is more political than religious; the name of God is not found on its pages, but God is at work. He has his servant Esther in place. 

It was a time of national peril for Israel and Mordecai appealed to Esther to approach the king. Esther’s response is to call her countrymen to fast on her behalf. Courage cannot be ignorant and Esther knew the danger of Mordecai’s request, “if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law–to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter (Esther 4:11). 

“Do it anyway,” was Mordecai’s response. 

“Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ~Esther 4:14

Mordecai knew the danger, for he also had stood courageously. Mordecai is not careless of her life. He loves her and has cared for her since childhood, but cares more deeply for her soul. To keep silent when courage is called for may (or may not) save your life, but you will die inside.

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” ~Luke 9:24

Esther understood, “I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). This is no statement of despair, but of devotion to her nation and her God. 

The story continues, but that is for tomorrow.

Daily Prayer

God, wonderful Savior, I will be prepared always to stand for You, as You stood for me in my place at the cross. I will be prepared, putting on Your armor daily, the faith in Your care, the hope of eternity, the love which You showed me. I will be prepared, pouring into Your Word, always ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope I have in You.

You set the time, I’ll be ready.

Amen

Daily Question

What do you typically want to know before you say yes to God?

Posted on

After the Closing Credits

Daily Reading

2Chronicles 35-36

Daily Thought

Judah repeats evil upon evil and is lost, but through the end, “the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place” (2Chronicles 36:15). The Hebrew says literally, “God rose up early and sent messengers.” God began his day thinking of his lost people.

I remember certain teachers, when explaining their criteria for grading, would challenge, “You have to really want an ‘F’ to receive an ‘F’ in my class.” These teachers did everything they could to pass us, unless we truly tried to fail. 

“But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy” (2Chronicles 36:16). God sought to save the lost, but there are those who would not be found, and God “brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, and they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels” (2Chronicles 36:17, 19). 

Thus the Chronicles end. Almost.

Sometimes a movie, at the very end, after the closing credits, adds one more scene, a glimpse of what’s next. There is more to come. All is not lost. 

The Chronicles do this. After Judah failed and the kingdom fell, “the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia” (2Chronicles 36:22), a foreign king, to speak the closing words of the Chronicles, words of hope to the Hebrew nation, “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up…’” (2Chronicles 36:23). Cyrus and Chronicles stop mid-sentence. Israel and Judah tried hard to fail, but God would not let them. This same proclamation of Cyrus is repeated to open the next book, Ezra 1:1-3, and the story continues.

“Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.” ~Ezra 1:3

Daily Prayer

My God, my Lord, and my Savior, I am so glad that You came uninvited into my life. Thank you for crashing my party and rescuing me from myself, because I would have sought my own pleasure to my destruction. Instead, You saved me for Your pleasure, which is life itself, a life everlasting and overflowing.

May I ever find my joy in You. May I begin my day thinking of You, delighting in Your Word, following Your lead, living life to the full. You are good, a righteous King, a loving Lord, Almighty God. I worship You.

Amen

Daily Question

What do you do when it feels like God has abandoned you?

Posted on

Forever True

Daily Reading

Numbers 33-34

Daily Thought

The Lord commanded Moses to keep a list of the places Israel camped after departing Egypt–”When they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron, Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places” (Numbers 33:1-2). It is more than a list of places, it is a testimony to the sovereignty and faithfulness of God. No difficulty too great. 

The Lord parted the Red Sea to let his people escape, then closed it and drowned the Egyptian army. When the people of God met danger, God prevailed over their enemies. When they thirst, God supplied water, and fed them daily manna from heaven. Miriam died at Kadesh (v 36), and the Lord provided another woman to lead the choir. Aaron died at Mount Hor (vv 38-39), and his son Eleazar stepped in. Eventually Moses died, and Joshua succeeded him. In all of these changes, God remained the same, true to his people. 

God is great, and in the midst of our freedom to wander, he still accomplishes his purpose. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan…” (Numbers 34:1-2). No matter what, they are going to the Promised Land.

Daily Prayer

Faithful Father, no matter what, no matter the ways I wander, no matter my heart’s rebellion, you came to seek and to save me. You are at all times true and I wish I was at all times grateful. I’m getting better, though, because you don’t give up on me. Thank You for Your grace, for Your long-suffering, for Your patience and persistence. I strayed and you found me and put me on the right path.

You have invited me to follow You. I will follow. I will be a disciple of Your Son, Jesus Christ. I will learn from You and grow in Your likeness, so that I might display Your glory and point others to the way of life.

Amen

Daily Question

When have you seen God turn a bad situation into something good?

Posted on

His Story

Daily Reading

Psalm 78-79

Daily Thought

Psalm 78 steps back and reflects on God’s goodness and greatness. The stories of God’s mighty work present a big picture of life and should be told to our children, “so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments” (Psalm 78:7). Verse 13, God parted the sea so Israel could walk on dry land; verse 14, God led his people through the wilderness by cloud and fire; verses 15-16, God spilt rocks and water gushed out, quenching their thirst; verses 24-25, God rained manna for food, the bread of angels; verse 27, and quail; verses 42-53, God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt by, verse 44, turning Egypt’s river to blood, verse 45, sending swarms of flies and frogs, verse 46, destroying crops and cattle with locust, verse 47, and hail and frost, verse 51, and finally God struck down the firstborn, verse 52-53, and led the people to safety; verse 54, God established his people in a new land; verse 72, and cared for this new nation.

And still Israel thought life is a game of chance. They questioned, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?” (Psalm 78:19-20), undecided yet if they should bet on God. Faith is lost when we see history as our story rather than God’s and we are players in his plot. 

Daily Prayer

Mighty God, there is no one like You. You alone are Almighty, You alone are Sovereign. Your will be done.

It is so hard to trust, to release my illusion of control and turn my life completely over to You. The greatest commandment, the greatest life-giving act I can do is to love You with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, all my strength. I know that You are God, that whatever You say will happen will happen. I know it. God help me trust in what I know.

Amen

Posted on

Behind the Scenes

Daily Reading

Esther 6-10

Daily Thought

The players in this story include King Ahasuerus of Persia, his queen Esther, her cousin Mordecai, and Haman, the king’s right-hand man. God is hidden behind the scenes. Haman hated Mordecai. The first half of the story of Esther ends with the plan of man, Haman’s “wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, ‘Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.’ This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made” (Esther 5:14). 

The following verse opens Act Two, the plan of God, “On that night the king could not sleep” (Esther 6:1). Haman had gallows built fifty cubits high, and you can sense the coming irony. These gallows meant by Haman for righteous Mordecai are meant by God for wicked Haman. God is not mentioned, but God is not absent. In chapter 2, Mordecai had done a good deed unrewarded, and on this night in chapter 6 the king could not sleep. He asked for the reading of the Chronicles (a cure for insomnia?) and learned how Mordecai had rescued the king, and here I will spoil the ending. “So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai” (Esther 7:10).

“The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead.” ~Proverbs 11:8

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, over and over again You remind me as I sow, so shall I reap. I should live life accordingly. Looking ahead, I shall do today what will produce a good tomorrow. Thank You for teaching me what is right, and for changing my heart so that I now desire Your ways instead of my own, some of the time, at least, and more and more as I make a habit of holiness.

Help me remember always that this world is Your creation and Your design and it works Your way. I enjoy life when I enjoy You and live according to the joy of Your Word.

Amen

Posted on

Do It Anyway

Daily Reading

Esther 1-5

Daily Thought

Ahasuerus, king of Persia, “loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen” (Esther 2:17). It is a time of national peril for Israel and Mordecai appeals to Esther to approach the king, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). The book of Esther is more political than religious, the name of God not found on its pages, but God’s providence fills the pages. Esther’s response, inviting her countrymen to fast on her behalf, acknowledges God behind the scenes. This story is of godly action more than words.

Courage cannot be ignorant and Esther knew the danger of Mordecai’s request, “if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law–to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter (Esther 4:11). “Do it anyway,” is Mordecai’s response, even as he knew the danger, for he also had stood courageously. Mordecai is not careless of her life. He loves her and has cared for her since childhood, but cares more deeply for her soul. To keep silent when courage is called for may (or may not) save your life, but you will die inside. Esther understood, “I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). This is no statement of despair, but of devotion to her nation and her God.

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” ~Luke 9:24

Daily Prayer

God, wonderful Savior, I will be prepared always to stand for You, as You stood for me in my place at the cross. I will be prepared, putting on Your armor daily, the faith in Your care, the hope of eternity, the love which You showed me. I will be prepared, pouring into Your Word, always ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope I have in You.

You set the time, I’ll be ready.

Amen