Here in Esther: The Beauty of Courageous Submission, Mrs. Schacht asks us the following question…it is a biggie…ready?
“…is there anything that draws you away
from your relationship with God,
or distracts you from serving Him?”
“Anything.” I don’t like to admit it…to you or even to myself, honestly. But ‘yes’ is my answer. How about you? Please take a few moments, right now, and consider this question. Perhaps ask God to reveal this to you.
As we consider that we allow circumstances and situations to distract us from the One Who we should be seeking, I am sure your heart is saddened as mine is. Actually,…no…not saddened! My heart is sorrowful. But, rather than just be depressed, my next thought should be/is “What am I going to do about that!?!” Our heavenly Father doesn’t want us to remain in our sorrowful state of mind…He wants us to mourn our sin (of course), repent and CHANGE. And then to live our lives to His honor and glory!
As we each experience daily, there is much to distract us from focusing on our relationship with our God. From the moment our eyes open each morning, it can be a struggle to maintain the right perspective—God first. But we CAN rise above this challenge and choose where our hearts and minds go. For me the impetus must be to seek Him above, before, and instead of anything else. He comes first before anything else. And so I need to purposefully, willfully seek Him.
We have such joy and privilege of having direct access to His throne of grace! At any time during the day (or night!) we can seek our heavenly Father—and enjoy quiet time alone with Him. David wrote about his ‘quiet time’ in the following verse. Does God hear you expressing your heart to Him in the same way?
In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord;
In the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You
And watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
Psalm 5:3
Now, of course, that time you spend alone with Your Lord—your quiet, devotional time—is certainly not the only time to pray! Actually, I think, being intentional…seeking Him first and foremost…our hearts are prepared so that the rest of our day is filled with continual little prayers and petitions directed to our God.
Be encouraged! I am sure that you already seek Him throughout your day…. How often do we go along through our day accomplishing the normal even mundane tasks talking with our Father? Or driving (yet again) to school to pickup your children; isn’t that a great time to pray? Or waiting for them at dance/soccer/baseball practice or music lessons/cub scout meeting/Awana time/_______ (you fill in the blank); yet another small amount of time that can be eked out of our day to pray and seek Him.
Paul wrote a number of times in his letters to the Christian believers about the importance of praying. Listen to this encouragement:
Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18
So we see by seeking God first and foremost, by being intentional to have a ‘quiet time’ early in our day, by seeking Him in our prayers and petitions, we will be better prepared to pray at all times, and, keep alert and watch, and, pray without ceasing. We will be continually seeking Him throughout each day—thus carrying out His will!
Here is a great example of seeking Him:
Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life],
Being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving.
Colossians 4:2
Those are some very intentional words used at the beginning of that verse, yes? Other versions use similar words such as devote, persevere, continue….
Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything,
but in every circumstance and in everything,
by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving,
continue to make your wants known to God.
And God’s peace [shall be yours, that peace]
which transcends all understanding
shall garrison and mount guard
over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
“In every circumstance and in everything by prayer and petition…with thanksgiving” …that is how we make sure we are seeking Him in spite of the myriad of distractions in our lives. Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord! As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.Jeremiah 29:12,13
* * * * *
Let’s Pray:
Lord, You know our desire to seek You! We need Your help, Lord, in everything…even in turning from distraction and seeking You! We have Your promise that if we ask anything according to Your will, You hear us. And since we know that You hear us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of You (1 John 5:14, 15). Thank You, Lord! We know that You will answer our heart’s cry as we are seeking You with all our heart!
Amen!
Esther – Chapter 5:9
“Haman was a happy man as he left the banquet” (Esther 5:9a, NLT). His seemingly ever- increasing power starting from his promotion (chapter 3:1 and 2) to King Xerxes giving him his signet ring and carte blanche to do what he wanted with this “certain people” (chapter 3:10 and 11) to this intimate banquet with the king and queen (here in chapter 5:4 and 5), was feeding Haman’s pride big time. Not only that but Queen Esther had invited him to a second banquet! His hat didn’t fit his big head anymore, and his buttons were popping off his cloak from his puffed out chest as he walked out the king’s gate to go home for the night! Can you hear his evil cackle? Oh, I don’t like this guy!
“But when he saw Mordecai sitting at the palace gate, not standing up or trembling nervously before him, Haman became furious” (Esther 5:9b). We already know from Esther chapter 3, that Haman planned to destroy Mordecai and all the Jews. Now, when he saw Mordecai sitting there so peacefully with no regard for him at all, Haman almost exploded on the inside with indescribable hatred.
Mordecai “stood” his ground by sitting when Haman walked by. Mordecai knew Who he had to ultimately answer to, and it wasn’t Haman. Mordecai had full confidence in the Lord’s provision and protection. Confidence in God and the humility of obedience and submission to Him gave Mordecai a calm and peaceful presence that was like acid eating away at Haman. (Compare the similarities when Jesus “stood His ground” in His last hours, Matthew 26-27.)
Haman was so full of himself that he couldn’t see that his pedestal of pride had no foundation. One day it would come crashing down around him. As Matthew Henry’s Commentary would describe him: he is a self-admirer, a self-deceiver. Doesn’t he sound like someone else we know? Isaiah 14:13-14, “For you (Satan) say to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne about God’s stars…and be like the Most High.’” Satan’s plan is for the destruction of God’s creation. His pride is so great and his rage against God is so consuming that he intends to kill and destroy (John 10:10) everyone he can. But he has no foundation of truth. He has built his plan on pride and hatred. He and his plan will fall. Isaiah 14:15, “Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary also says: “A slight affront, which a humble man would scarcely notice, will torment a proud man , even to madness, and will mar all his comforts.” Haman was tormented by Mordecai’s affront, his intentional defiance. I believe Satan is tormented by our affronts when we stand against him and his evil plan to destroy us and our families.
We have two life examples to look at here. We have Haman who lived a very self-centered and prideful life. He deceived himself and he deceived others, especially the king, for very selfish motives. Then we have Mordecai, who was a humble man of faith and confidence. His motives were selfless as day after day he watched over and wisely advised Esther, even to the extent of sitting at the gate when “trouble” walked by.
Today we have the opportunity to check our motives for what we do and what we say. If our motives are based on feeding our pride and obtaining power over a person or a situation, we are self-deceived and insecure. If a small offense eats away at us, we will want to check our lives for underlying pride. A life controlled by pride will lead us to “destruction,” as we read in Proverbs 16:18.
If our motives are directed by our faith in God, then we will live selfless lives of submission and service. We will not be easily offended, and will forgive quickly. We will stand in humble confidence and peace, even as we “sit by the gate” when trouble tries to destroy us. (Ephesians 6:13.) We will have an inner assurance that God will show Himself mighty to save.
Who does your life look most like…Haman or Mordecai? Is it one of pride, torment, insecurity, fear, and eventual destruction? Or is it one of humility, peace, confidence, faith, and life? Today is your day to choose “life and have it to the full.”
*****
Let’s Pray:
Dear Lord, we come humbly to Your throne of grace today. Even at this moment we are searching our innermost beings for areas of pride and deception. Help us, Holy Spirit, to find them so we can repent and allow You to cleanse us. We want our motives to be pure and selfless. Please help us to not be easily offended and to quickly forgive. May each of us live a life of humility, peace, confidence, and faith. Thank You for offering us life to the full! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.