Friday, 2 August 2019

Patience

Tweet

The question of the day: Patience, patience! What does the book of Esther teach us about patience?

Answer: It's not really so much about patience as it is about simply trusting God. The hardest thing in the world is to really trust God. To trust God is to keep ourselves at rest. The word "manipulate" comes to mind. Manipulate means to put your hands on (anything being manipulated). Manos are "hands" in Spanish.

Esther was reluctant to do anything, but her cousin, Mordechai, made it clear that God wanted to use her "for such a time as this." Then she invited all the Jews to join her in 3 days of fasting and prayer.

At the end of 3 days of fasting and prayer, Esther appeared before the king to invite him (and Haman) to a banquet that same day. Why? So she could invite them to another banquet the following day. The whole time, she never told them what she really wanted. The suspense is building.

Haman was ecstatic until he saw Mordechai. Haman's wife and friends then spoke prophetically to him. Esther 6:13b "Since Mordecai, before whom you have begun your downfall, is of Jewish descent, you won't be able to stand against him. In fact, you will certainly fall before him!"

At this point, events were in motion that Haman could not have stopped even if he wanted to stop them. That next day, Haman's plot was exposed and his end was sealed. The last verse of our reading today explains ... Esther 7:10 "So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's rage subsided."

The king had already signed, sealed and delivered the appointed method and time of the destruction of the Jews. But God acted ... Only by waiting on the Lord and following God's plan was Esther successful in accomplishing what seemed impossible.