Despair Part IV

Esther

Esther was a young Jewish girl who had been made queen (married to King Ahasuerus) but the king and his rulers were not aware that she was Jewish.

The king had a chief nobleman named Haman who hated the Jews, and through trickery, convinced the king to allow him to order the massacre of all the Jews.

Letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people—young and old, women and children—and plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.   –Ester 3:13 (HCSB)

Esther’s uncle (Mordecai) sent word to Esther and told her she needed to speak to the king on behalf of her people. The problem here was that if you went before the king without his request, he might have you killed.

Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to tell Mordecai, “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—the death penalty. Only if the king extends the gold scepter will that person live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last 30 days.” Esther’s response was reported to Mordecai. -Ester 4:10-12 (HCSB)

Esther was afraid and rightly so. However, her uncle charged her that if her people were destroyed, she herself could not hide in the palace unscathed.

Mordecai told the messenger to reply to Esther, “Don’t think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king’s palace. If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” –Ester 4:13-14 (HCSB)

Esther agreed but asked that all the people fast so that the king would receive her.

Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, day or night. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.” So Mordecai went and did everything Esther had ordered him. –Ester 4:15-17 (HCSB)

Can you imagine how scary this must have been for her? Talk about despair. The fate of this whole race of people was, to some degree, in her hands. But she stepped out in faith and went before the king.

God allows His people to experience hardships, and it is easy for us to question why. I believe it is to build our faith. When we are challenged beyond what we can bare, we turn to God for deliverance. The greater the risk or burden, the greater our view of God’s intervention and then we have greater faith to tackle greater obstacles. Our faith grows and others faith grows as they see God work in and through us, and God is glorified. You might say our trials and tribulations are win-win situation for everyone.

If we really love and trust God, we will have a clearer view of things. We may not see the reason at the time and it probably won’t be pleasant, but as long as we know He is in control and working all things for the good, we can bare whatever lays before us.

Who wouldn’t want to see God work in their life and grow in Him?

Despair Part I

Are You Discouraged?

Are you facing trials and tribulations?

Does everything seem to be falling apart in your life?

Does it feel like God has abandoned you?

If you answered yes, you are not alone. I struggle with this myself, but when I do, I turn to the scriptures. There are numerous passages that tell the stories of Godly men and women who were discouraged. I get no delight in the suffering of others, but I do gain strength by knowing I am not alone. Furthermore, I see examples of how I am to trust God through the worst life has to throw at us.

So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.-Jeremiah 38:6

I don’t know how long Jeremiah spent in this pit, but having spent time in mud before, I can tell you it is not pleasant. Imagine not being able to sit or lie down without being covered in muck. Where do you use the bathroom? In the muck. This could not have been pleasant.

There was no bread in the city so he was hungry as well.

Jeremiah was put in a cistern that was full of mud and slime all because he spoke the word of the Lord to the king. The king had asked Jeremiah for a word from the Lord but did not get the word he wanted to hear so he punished God’s prophet.

Fortunately, Jeremiah was brought up out of the pit eventually. What do you suppose he did? He continued to speak all that the Lord gave him to speak.

If Jeremiah could endure this and still trust his God enough to continue speaking on His behalf knowing his was an unpopular message, what is it for me also to trust this same God in my light afflictions?

If you are struggling right now and need to share your burdens, consider going to the One, the only One, who can sustain you. Also, please feel free to contact me if you have questions or need prayer.

May God give you His peace, comfort and joy to sustain you through these dark

Days.

Suffering for Christ, Consolation through Christ

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶ Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

⁸ For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, ¹⁰ who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, ¹¹ you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. -2 Corinthians 1:3-11

1:5. So our consolation also aboundeth by Christ: As the problems increase, so does the consolation. Both, in this case, are measured by this experience of Christ (cf. Luke 24:26; 46, Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 1 Peter 1:11). Paul’s use of the terms abound and abundant is significant throughout this epistle. 

1:6, 7. Many ancient manuscripts differ in the order of the clauses in these verses. But the sense in every case is basically the same: “If we are afflicted it is for your good, or if we are comforted it is for your good.” Everything else in these verses is subordinated to these two main ideas. Paul does not glory in suffering in itself. But he knows that suffering for Christ identifies us with Him and His church (cf. Rom. 8:17).

(taken from the King James Study Bible)

Christ Jesus allows us to suffer to strengthen us, to help others, and to bring Glory to Him, but with that suffering, He sustains us and gives us His peace, joy and comfort. When we are hurting, it gives us great peace when a brother (or sister) comes along who has been, or is, where we are. We don’t find joy in their pain but we do gain strength in knowing that we are not alone in this. 

We are to bear one another’s burdens.

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

–Proverbs 27:17

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