If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead.
Proverbs 26:27
It never gets old seeing God so visibly at work and/or seeing His Word played out in our own lives or on the pages of Scripture. What perfect correlation is seen in Haman hanging on the gallows he had built to hang Mordecai from, and the words of today’s Proverb: If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead.
As I read through today’s micro portion of Esther’s story, I found myself rejoicing when I read the words: “They hanged Haman on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.” However, I immediately felt bad for celebrating the demise of another person, but in searching my heart, I was reminded I wasn’t celebrating the death of a man but the victory of our God over the wicked enemy. As battles loom around or in us, what a blessing to know that our God is fighting for us. He goes before us, comes around, and behind us. Isaiah shared this message from God: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.1“ We can rest assured, no matter the enemy or the battle, our God is with us and in perfect control. There is no enemy He cannot defeat nor battle He cannot win.
As today’s journal entry points out, when we look beyond the story of Haman’s demise, we will find a warning that we would be wise not to miss. Check it out below. (Note this entry is also available at lovegodgreatly.com)
For the Lord promotes justice, and never abandons his faithful followers. They are permanently secure, but the children of the wicked are wiped out.
Psalm 37:28
If we were to backtrack on our journey through Esther’s story, we would see that there was a time when telling the king about her heritage was not on Esther’s agenda. However, when Mordecai pushed her on the issue with his “for such a time as this” speech, she acquiesced with the condition that the people would pray and fast for a period of three days, and she would do the same.1 As we have seen. While God’s name has not been mentioned, the evidence that He not only heard the prayers but answered them is indisputable.
Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Philippians 4:6
Sisters 💕 Philippians 4:6 is one of my life verses. It is a verse that has changed my life in many ways. It has not only rescued me from pits of anxiety and fear, but it has also taught me to pray and shown me that I can trust God with my life. This was a truth that Esther knew as well, which is why, from the time Mordecai called on her to make the plot to destroy the Jews known to the king, she insisted that she would only go before the king after a time of fasting and praying. Friends, may we always be so faithful to keep prayer at the forefront of the battles that we face.
Believing that God was with her, Esther does as Mordecai had instructed her. With courage and boldness, she reveals not only the slaughter planned for the Jews but the truth of who she is.
I Will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Genesis 12:3
What joy and encouragement it is to know that we share in God’s blessing of promise and hope that He spoke to Abram so long ago. In all the chaos, pain, and suffering of this world may we never lose sight of the One to whom we belong. May we rest in the truth that He is faithful and trustworthy, and that His love never fails. And may we live lives that make these truths known to others – that they may also share in the blessing God spoke to Abraham.
Do you know the God of Abraham? Check out the truths that can make you part of the family of God. It would be my greatest pleasure to introduce you to Him. Click on the link below.
Do not those who devise evil go astray? But those who plan good exhibit faithful covenant love.
Proverbs 14:22
Have you ever played the role of Haman? While I hate to admit it, I can look back on my life and see moments, if not seasons of ‘Haman’ in me. Perhaps you know the feeling as well … You know what you want in life, so you pursue it … There’s nothing wrong with that, but then you plan and plot and dwell on it. You are so focused on the end result that little else matters, and you chase after it at all costs. You find yourself unhappy with everyone and everything around you, and continue to plot and plan, determined to make your desire/dream a reality. Yet all the while, you are leading yourself further and further away from it.
Friends, one thing is clear – we cannot chase God’s way if our eyes are on ourselves and our desires, and/or the world around us.
Consider this, Haman already had a ranking position and the trust of the king, as well as the added glory of the people bowing to him. However, he was so angered by the fact that Mordecai would not bow to him … and so intent on destroying the Jews that he lost his way and fell prey to his own evil plans.
May God help us to keep our eyes on Him and always move toward what is good and right, that we might experience and exhibit His faithful covenant love. – Amen
The More We Know
Be sure and follow the link below for today’s wonderful post from Love God Greatly.
Based on w3d5 of For Such a Time As This, by Love God Greatly, p109
Read: Esther 4:15-17 and SOAP: Psalm 32:8
I will instruct and teach you about how you should live. I will advise you as I look you in the eye.
Psalm 32:8
Esther’s story is full of drama, and for those unfamiliar with the story, there is undoubtedly intrigue. The Jews are facing annihilation by edict of the king. Mordecai has sent word for Esther to talk to the king about what is about to happen and why. Esther has responded with the reminder that she cannot do that because entering the king’s presence without invitation can end in death, and most recently, Mordecai has lovingly and necessarily admonished Esther with the reminder that “she may very well have achieved royal statusfor such a time as this.”Today, we read Esther’s reply, a beautiful and bold statement of her faith. May we be so bold with our faith.
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast on my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. If I perish, I perish.”
based on w3d3 of For Such A Time As This, by Love God Greatly, p101
Unfailing love and faithfulness protect the king; his throne is made secure through love.
Proverbs 20:28
Consider this question as you read today’s journal entry: When the ways or call of God on your life come with “high stakes,” what do you do?
I’ve shared today’s LGG Journal page … but what I encourage you to read is their blog post for this day. It’s truly one of the best I’ve ever read from them. Please use the link below, as we are a week behind their schedule. – Friends, if you are short on time, scroll past the devotion and read the blog post – you won’t want to miss it.
Corrie and Esther’s stories should encourage our unsteady hearts to not give way to fear but to trust that God’s faithful love will serve as our sure foundation. Earthly authority may not give an audience to our petitions, but as God’s royal daughters we always have total access to the loving ear of God Almighty. You and I can confidently approach His throne of grace today and find the mercy and help we desperately need for whatever situation we are facing.
LoveGodGreatly.com/w3d3blogpost – click the button below for the full post
“Like a bad tooth or a foot out of joint, so is confidence in an unfaithful person at the time of trouble.” Proverbs 25:19
Friends, I am having ongoing problems with my eye and am trying to limit my screen time. Unfortunately, since my job requires a good deal of screen time, blogging and studying must be curtailed for at least another week. Meanwhile, I will be posting the journal entries here along with the reading for the day, as well as links for more insight. – I hope you’ll stick with me for the journey and keep my eye situation in your prayers.
Come, let us bow down and worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator.
Psalm 95:6
This first portion of this Psalm is a reminder of who God is and what He has done but also who we, as God’s people, are in connection to Him. It is equally a beautiful invitation to not only consider who He is but to respond to Him in worship. The psalmist calls the people of God not necessarily to a particular physical posture but foremost to a posture of the mind and heart. For surely if God’s people recall that He has protected and delivered them, if they remember His greatness – His superiority to all other gods, and the fact that the earth and the seas are His – surely then – they will be moved to worship Him with every part of their being.
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout out praises to our Protector who delivers us. 2Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout out to him in celebration. 3For the Lord is a great God, a great king who is superior to all gods. 4 The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down and worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, our Creator. 7 For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture, the sheep he owns. Today, if only you would obey him.
Psalm 95:1-7a
In today’s journey through Esther, we find Mordecai still among the servants in the king’s gates. This position has proven helpful thus far, but now he finds himself in a place where he is called to bow down and pay homage (a show of great respect and honor) to Haman, the king’s highest official. I am always delighted to read that Mordecai not only refused to bow or pay homage, but he also let it be known to the other servants of the king that he was a Jew, which was the reason he would not bow. While his revelation of his lineage stood in contrast to his instructions that Esther stay silent about hers, there was a time and purpose for both, which, as we will see in the story, God uses and honors both.
Friends, living in the twenty-first century, we may not find ourselves sitting in a king’s gates or living with rulers who make us bow down to them or “pay homage.” However, I think we would be careless to miss the things and/or people who, in many ways, whether by coercion or following the cultural norms we do often “bow down to” or give more homage to than we do our God. Like Mordecai, as children of the one true living God, we are neither to worship nor bow down to any other (man or god). In light of the warning/reminder found in Psalm 95:7b-11, may we be careful and faithful to “bow down” (whether physically or in our attitude) and worship only before the Lord, our Creator. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep He owns. Today, let us commit to living obediently with hearts and attitudes of honor and worship before Him.
Prayer
Father, there is no one like You, no other god, and no other man who compares to You. You are the true and living God who has loved us with an unfathomable love. You have lavished that love on us. We were prisoners on death row, and You offered us freedom through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. You have washed us white as snow and filled us with Your Spirit, empowering us to live and love like Jesus and to know You as a child knows his/her father. I am mesmerized by You and truly stand with hands raised and head bowed in awe of You. – Thank You for the example of Mordecai and for the reminder to bend our knees to no one and nothing else besides You. In the name of Jesus – for Your eternal glory, Amen!
You are Lord of creation And Lord of my life Lord of the land and the sea You were Lord of the heavens Before there was time Lord of all lords You will be … We bow down And we worship You Lord We bow down And we worship You Lord We bow down And we worship You Lord Lord of all Lords You will be
The second portion of Psalm 95:6 is in part an invitation to remember what happens when we turn away from God; yet it is also a warning of sorts. The people had seen what God could do and would do on their behalf, and yet they challenged His authority and tried His patience with their disobedience and refusal to return to Him. They chose other gods and the ways of the people around them, and roused God’s anger against them. May we remember this warning from the Psalmist: not to be stubborn but obedient. May we not challenge His authority and try His patience, but remember the work of His hands and heart for His people. May we not disgust Him as that generation did, but instead bring Him honor by obeying His commands. Let us be careful not to rouse His anger but faithfully press on to the high calling and one day dwell with Him forever.
Today, if only you would obey him. 8 He says, “Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, like they were that day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors challenged my authority, and tried my patience, even though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I was continually disgusted with that generation, and I said, ‘These people desire to go astray; they do not obey my commands.’ 11 So I made a vow in my anger, ‘They will never enter into the resting place I had set aside for them.’”
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ephesians 5:33
As we saw yesterday, the king’s counsel was not from “godly” men. Yet, when we observe the story of Esther carefully, we will see that God was working behind the scenes, setting the stage for Esther, a Jew, to become queen to the King of Persia.
Today’s study of Esther focuses on verses nineteen through twenty-two, which detail the advice given to the King by his counselors. Counsel that basically banished Queen Vashti and allowed for the King to choose a new queen. However, the passage also emphasizes the importance of making this known throughout the kingdom so that all the women will give honor to their husbands. Friends, whether we are married or unmarried, we must remember that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
I realize that if we are not married, we may want to say Ephesians 5:33 doesn’t speak to us. However, as that thought came to my own mind, I was reminded that it is the call of God on every believer to love and respect Him (Deut 6:5; Mark 12:29-30). Likewise, regardless of our marital status, Jesus made it clear that we are to love others as He has loved us, (John 13:34); There is no qualifying statement indicating that we only have to do this “If he respects us;” nor do I find a qualifier for the words of Christ – commanding that we love just as He has loved us. Yet, I did find it good and helpful to read these words from today’s journal posting. I pray they are a blessing to you as well.
Marriage is a beautiful reflection of God’s love when both husband and wife seek to honor Him. In Ephesians 5:33, we’re reminded of the delicate balance in marriage. A husband is called to love his wife as Christ loves the church, and a wife is called to respect her husband. Both love and respect are essential for a thriving marriage. Just as a wife longs to feel loved, a husband desires to feel valued and respected.
But what happens when this balance is broken? In the story of King Ahasuerus and Queen Vashti, we see the consequences of love and respect missing from their relationship. The king’s request put Queen Vashti in a difficult position, asking her to do something she wasn’t comfortable with. Instead of protecting her, he unlovingly placed her in a situation that ultimately cost her the crown. This is not the way God intended marriage to be.
For those of us who are married, respecting our husbands is one way we show them love and appreciation. It’s how they feel cherished for the ways they lead and serve our families. But above all, we must first respect and honor God with our actions. When we choose to obey God, even when it’s hard, we trust that He sees us and will care for us, no matter the outcome.
Sweet sister, if you find yourself in a situation where standing up for what is right could come at a cost, be encouraged. God sees your heart, and He will always honor your obedience to Him.”
For Such A Time As This/journal p53
Prayer
Father, I pray for courage for every woman who belongs to you to courageously stand for what is right. For those who are married, help them, even when it is difficult, to honor You in their marriage by showing love and respect to their husbands. Whether we are married or unmarried, Father, help us honor You in all areas of our lives, trusting You to protect us and provide for every situation. Yes and Amen in Jesus’ name!
Me From the Inside Out 