ESTHER- THE STAR

‘Esther’ means star in Persian. Esther was a star to the Persian Empire for her beauty and for becoming queen to King Xerxes.

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”(Esther 4:14)

Esther was and Jewish girl and one among many girls screened to be the next queen to King Xerxes, who ruled over the Persian Empire. Her selection to become the queen was the ultimate rags to riches story. Yet while comfortably reigning as the queen, she was faced with a threat to the extermination of the entire Jewish nation. It is at that juncture that her adoptive father Mordecai confronts her with the above challenge, in which he expertly points out three timeless truths.

1. The sovereignty of God-God has a mind of his own and he will accomplish his purposes regardless of circumstances or people. No event takes place and no power rules without the knowledge of God. Mordecai reminds Esther that there are two options in responding to God’s sovereignty- either to resist it or submit to it. It is possible to resist God, because man has a free will. However life ends up being a miserable course of existence. On the other hand submitting to the sovereignty of God sets man on a course of productivity and peace.

• The security within God’s will-Man strives to be secure and he does so with alarms, insurances and safety nets. However one should not forget that the safest place in the world is within the center of God’s will. Mordecai reminds Esther that while there was risk in approaching the king uninvited, there was greater risk in moving outside the will of God. God’s security also brings rest as the Psalmist says, ‘He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty’(Palms 91:1). Such a restful life, which only God can make possible, is truly priceless.

• The purpose of one’s life-God brings blessings in the life of people to accomplish his purposes. Mordecai points out that Esther was just another girl who became queen; and that perhaps this was the moment of her life. Man is quick to ask God for blessings but those blessings come to full fruition only when he recognizes and sets out to accomplish God’s greater purpose behind those blessings. Indeed- when man is able to see the purpose of his life and live it out, life becomes meaningful and blessed.

Esther was indeed a star to the Persian Empire, but greater still was the fact that she became a star in God’s sight for recognizing the voice of God and positioning herself to accomplish his will.

• ← GOD BEFORE MONEY
• AVOID EXTREMES  →