Passage of the Day: Esther 9 – 10 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: As we close out the Book of Esther, Chuck Swindoll, in the devotional book I’ve been using for my morning meditations, helps his devotional readers, like yours truly, to be reminded of one of the main underlying themes of this wonderful story in the Book of Eshter; and that is how our Lord works to glorify Himself as our worthy God. So, how do we see that theme working itself out in the Book where God is unnamed but very prominent?
Well, we see God working in the background of the lives of the main characters, Esther and her husband King Ahasuerus, and with the reversal of fortune of Haman having to yield to Mordecai. Only a sovereign God could have wrought what we read as the historical story of these characters. And as Swindoll points out, this is a theme that God uses throughout scripture, … the unexpected witness whom God raises to be His heroes. And as I read Swindoll in this morning’s devotional study, a passage from 1st Corinthians (verses 26 – 27) [linked here for your study] came out of my memory. You may know this passage about how God uses the lowly or even the foolish to give witness to His glory. And as I meditated on it, with Swindoll’s help, I remembered how God chose witnesses for His glory who would not have been chosen by the world.
There was Moses, an 80 year old burned-out shepherd, who tried to disqualify himself as a witness for God because of a speech impediment. But God said, “You’re my man, Moses; … go free My people.” And there was Gideon, who was hiding in fear in a wine barrel; and God dubbed him as “… a man of valor.” There was young David, the shepherd boy who was tagged to defeat Goliath and become the King of God’s people and fore bearer of our Lord. And there was the Jew-hater Saul of Tarsus, whom God knocked off his high horse and chose him to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. And we’ve been studying the Jewish maiden, Esther, whom God raised up for just the right place and time to save the her people and nation.
And all of these biblical examples would definitely – by human standards – be labeled as UNEXPECTED WITNESSES for God; but we know historically how they went forward and lived out the command of Jesus to His disciples to shine His light so that all would see their good works and glorify God, the Father, in heaven.
Who is to say that God isn’t saying to you, “Tag, … you’re it?”
Remember the old playground game, where we ran from being tagged by the one who was “IT.” But it was usually the slow ones who ended up being tagged; and then that person was charged to go out and tag someone else. You know … God has said to all of His disciples, … “tag, you’re it” … in His great commission (see Matt. 28: 19-20); and we may not think we’re worthy of taking the charge and going out to “tag” someone else. But I think back to something I’ve repeated quite often in devotionals before. It’s a phrase which was taught to me by my mentor, who told me, “God’s calling is His enablement.”
So, like Esther was tagged by God, perhaps He is saying to you today, “Tag, … you’re it!”
My Prayer for Today: Lord, … I know You’ve tagged me; and I pray to take it to as many as I can. Amen
[PS: Well this closes out Chuck Swindoll’s series from the Book of Esther. Tomorrow we move into the life of Job to delve further into the life of another of God’s servants so that we can grow to know God more through them.]
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