{"id":14658,"date":"2013-09-23T01:00:43","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T06:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=14658"},"modified":"2013-09-22T22:33:37","modified_gmt":"2013-09-23T03:33:37","slug":"esther-41-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/09\/23\/esther-41-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Esther – Chapter 4:1-3"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Isaiah30_19\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Now when Mordecai learned all that was done, [he] rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and bitter cry. \u00a0He came and stood before the king\u2019s gate, for no one might enter the king\u2019s gate clothed with sackcloth. \u00a0And in every province, wherever the king\u2019s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
\nThe Book of Esther, chapter 4:1-3<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mordecai was utterly distraught.\u00a0 The word, distraught<\/em>, means \u2018overly agitated, worried, full of grief, worked up, deeply upset, in a panic.\u2019\u00a0 In Latin, it literally means to be pulled apart<\/em>.\u00a0 Have you ever felt like this?\u00a0 I am thinking you are nodding your head…for sure I have, too.\u00a0 There are many reactions and responses to<\/span> this gut-wrenching emotion of being distraught. Perhaps you might feel as Mordecai did and react by crying out loudly.\u00a0 Or, rather, you might feel \u2018frozen\u2019 and not sure what to do.\u00a0 Maybe you might feel like you had been punched and just fall to your knees in despondency.\u00a0 These emotions\u2014being distraught, despondent, unsure\u2014are feelings<\/span> that the enemy of our souls would want you to\u00a0experience and succumb to\u00a0in<\/span> defeat.<\/p>\n

However, there is One Who knows we will feel like this at times and wants us to seek Him for relief and help and deliverance.\u00a0 Our heavenly Father is the One Who has put \u2018feelings\u2019 into our makeup.\u00a0 Remember He formed and made us; He knows every part of our being…our feelings and our thoughts, too.<\/p>\n

O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
\nYou know my downsitting and my<\/span> uprising; You understand my thought afar off.
\nYou sift and search out my path and my lying down; You are acquainted with all my ways.
\nPsalms 139:1-3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Almighty God wants us to come to Him at any time, with all of our feelings; yes, even when we are distraught, despondent, unsure.\u00a0 He already knows we are feeling this way…He just wants us to seek Him!<\/p>\n

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.
\nIn all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
\nDo not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
\nIt will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.
\nProverbs 3:5-8<\/strong><\/p>\n

The same feelings that Satan<\/span> attempts to use to pull us down and defeat us, God can use to draw us to Himself.\u00a0 Listen to the words of the psalmist when he was distraught, despondent, unsure.\u00a0 Just like Mordecai, he cried out to God.<\/p>\n

As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.
\nEvening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.
\nPsalms 55:16 and 17<\/strong><\/p>\n

With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.
\nI pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.
\nPsalms 142:1 and 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know those times when you fall to your knees…so unsure of what to do.\u00a0 God simply desires a heart of humility as You come before Him.<\/p>\n

There is record after record after record in the Scriptures of people who loved God, and did wonderful things as they served Him…and yet, at times, were at their wits\u2019 end.\u00a0 This account in the Book of Esther is an incredible example of harrowing times\u2014so alarming and scary!\u00a0\u00a0 But as we have witnessed over the past\u00a0three weeks in our study, Esther\u2019s story is one that shows the providential hand of the loving Almighty God.\u00a0 As we continue our study of the Book of Esther, and Mrs. Schacht\u2019s Esther: the Beauty of Courageous Submission<\/em>, we will see how Esther also recognized her need for God\u2019s protection, His care, His supply of her needs.<\/p>\n

May I encourage each of you to never, ever hold back your desire to cry out to your heavenly Father.\u00a0 He is always listening.\u00a0 He has promised.\u00a0 His promises are ours to stand firmly on knowing Who has spoken them, and Who will bring them to pass.<\/p>\n

In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He answered me.
\nPsalm 120:1<\/strong><\/p>\n

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
\nPsalm 34:6<\/strong><\/p>\n

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
\nActs 2:21<\/strong><\/p>\n

He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
\nwhen<\/span> He hears it, He will answer you.
\nIsaiah 30:19<\/strong><\/p>\n

* * * * *<\/p>\n

Let’s Pray<\/span>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank You, Father, for Your many promises that You will hear our cry…and that You will answer.\u00a0 You are a Faithful God…who never lies.\u00a0 We are such blessed\u00a0women that we can put our absolute trust and total confidence in You!\u00a0 You are so good to us!\u00a0 We praise and thank You in Jesus\u2019 name.<\/p>\n

Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now when Mordecai learned all that was done, [he] rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and bitter cry. \u00a0He came and stood before the king\u2019s gate, for no one might enter the king\u2019s gate clothed with sackcloth. \u00a0And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[3743,235,3753,3752,3475,3751,2052,3754,3512,1616,425,3466,3742,2054,3748,3745,3744,3749,3746,3747,3579,1135],"class_list":["post-14658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-womens","tag-acts-221","tag-coleen-hayden","tag-cry-out-to-god","tag-cry-to-god","tag-darlene-schacht","tag-distraught","tag-esther","tag-esther-41-3","tag-esther-the-beauty-of-courageous-submission","tag-feelings","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-gods-promises","tag-isaiah-3019","tag-mordecai","tag-proverbs-35-8","tag-psalm-1201","tag-psalm-346","tag-psalms-1391-3","tag-psalms-1421-2","tag-psalms-5516-17","tag-trust-god","tag-womens-bible-studies","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-3Oq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14658"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14791,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14658\/revisions\/14791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}