{"id":14739,"date":"2013-09-25T00:01:13","date_gmt":"2013-09-25T05:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=14739"},"modified":"2013-09-24T22:00:06","modified_gmt":"2013-09-25T03:00:06","slug":"esther-chapter-48-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/09\/25\/esther-chapter-48-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Esther – Chapter 4:8-11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here we are in\u00a0Chapter Four of Esther, sisters, and today we are looking at verses 8-11.\u00a0 Wow \u2013 there are so many<\/span> topics that jumped out, wanting to be discussed!\u00a0 But I want to delve further into one that touches us all in some form or another \u2013 trials or testing.\u00a0 To say that Mordecai and Esther were facing trials is a bit of an understatement, wouldn\u2019t you say?\u00a0 And yet, while facing the same trial \u2013 extinction \u2013 they each had their own individual trial, as well; Mordecai was concerned for his people and their salvation, Esther was concerned for her own safety in honoring Mordecai\u2019s request to approach the King.<\/p>\n

Sisters, we\u2019re going to have trials. Troubles. \u00a0Rough patches. \u00a0Dry seasons. \u00a0Disappointments. Jesus tells us this several times throughout the Gospels, and Darlene reminds us of 1 Peter 4:12 \u2013 13 (NIV). \u00a0\u201cDear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.\u00a0 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Uh, wait a minute \u2013 did that scripture say rejoice<\/i> that you participate in the sufferings of Christ?\u00a0 Yep.\u00a0 And so does this one, \u201cConsider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.\u00a0 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything\u201d (James 1:2-3 NIV). \u00a0These verses in James say we will go through trials \u201cof many kinds\u201d \u2013 some will be severe, some not so much.\u00a0 We may be losing our keys or our patience.\u00a0 We may be having \u201cone of those days\u201d or wonder if we\u2019ll even make it through the day. But God allows us to face trials because they \u201cdevelop perseverance.\u201d\u00a0 I saw perseverance defined as \u201csteady persistence in a course of action, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles or discouragement\u201d (Dictionary.com). \u00a0So, if I can paraphrase, God allows us to face trials so that we can develop the ability to stay the course, finish the race \u2013 in spite of what difficulties, obstacles or discouragement will come our way (especially from our enemy, Satan).<\/p>\n

I know, I know.\u00a0 I hear the protest rising from you right now. “How am I supposed to rejoice<\/b>\u00a0in the trial I am going through now?\u00a0 You have NO IDEA what I am suffering.”\u00a0 You\u2019re so right…I don\u2019t.\u00a0 But God does<\/em>.\u00a0 And He promises never to leave\u00a0you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), so He will be with you through the whole thing.\u00a0 He also tells us that \u201c…no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.\u00a0 This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me…\u201d (Isaiah 54:17 NIV). \u00a0\u201cYes, yes,\u201d I hear you protesting, \u201cbut joy<\/i>, Robin? JOY<\/i><\/b>???\u201d \u00a0Yes, sisters, joy.\u00a0 Because unlike happiness, which can come and go with our moods, joy is the deeper sense of understanding \u00a0and well-being that comes from accepting that God is in complete control of your life and, as such, will always work on your behalf, for your good, because He promised (Romans 8:28).<\/p>\n

Trials are not easy, sisters.\u00a0 And no one said you had to be happy to experience them.\u00a0 But they do give you the chance to get closer to God.\u00a0 Psalm 34:18 (NIV) says \u201cThe Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.\u201d\u00a0 When you find yourself in a hard place or season—cry out to God!\u00a0 He hears you.\u00a0 He LOVES you.\u00a0 He wants to help you.\u00a0 He wants to deliver you!\u00a0 He wants to fill all the voids in your life.\u00a0 He encourages you to \u201ccast ALL your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you\u201d (1 Peter 5:7).<\/p>\n

\"Psalm34_18\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I have heard testing\/trials described beautifully in this way:\u00a0 “Our lives are like gold \u2013 but in its unrefined state.\u00a0 The goldsmith heats up the metal \u2013 so hot that it is liquefied \u2013 and then begins to skim the impurities and waste from the surface.\u00a0 This happens not once, but MANY times. Each time the goldsmith skims the impurities and waste from the surface.\u00a0 Do you know when it\u2019s done?\u00a0 When the goldsmith can see his face mirrored in the surface of the gold.”\u00a0 God does the same with our lives. The rough times, hard times, difficult seasons, times of trial and suffering are like the heat used to liquefy the metal that is our character.\u00a0 If we allow God to ‘heat up’ our character, he will skim the impurities and the waste that particular challenge brings\u00a0out of\u00a0us. With each trial we become more like Him (remember our first scripture, 1 Peter 4:12-13?) until one day God sees\u00a0His<\/em> face mirrored in our<\/i> lives, and His glory is revealed \u2013 in us!<\/p>\n

Let’s pray<\/span>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear God, I am asking You to help me through the trials I am experiencing in my life. \u00a0There are times that I just don\u2019t know what to do, and I wonder how I\u2019m going to get through this.\u00a0 Thank You, Lord, that I can pour my heart out to You and trust that not only CAN You help me, but You WILL help me!\u00a0 Thank You for holding me in the palm of Your hand.\u00a0 If there are areas that I haven\u2019t surrendered to Your care, please help me give them to You. \u00a0Help me to cast ALL my anxieties on You! \u00a0Thank You, Lord, for Your protection and provision.\u00a0 Help me to come through this fire looking more like You every day.\u00a0 In the name of Your Son I pray.<\/p>\n

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

Here we are in\u00a0Chapter Four of Esther, sisters, and today we are looking at verses 8-11.\u00a0 Wow \u2013 there are so many topics that jumped out, wanting to be discussed!\u00a0 But I want to delve further into one that touches us all in some form or another \u2013 trials or testing.\u00a0 To say that Mordecai […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":14859,"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":[3782,1176,3475,3785,2425,2052,3777,3512,376,425,436,3779,494,2702,3784,554,577,620,2054,3786,3181,1432,3780,3783,3474,914,3778,1081,3781,1139],"class_list":["post-14739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens","tag-1-peter-412-13","tag-1-peter-57","tag-darlene-schacht","tag-difficulties","tag-doubt","tag-esther","tag-esther-48-11","tag-esther-the-beauty-of-courageous-submission","tag-fear","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-god","tag-gold","tag-hebrews-135","tag-isaiah-5417","tag-james-12-3","tag-jesus","tag-joy","tag-love","tag-mordecai","tag-obstacles","tag-perseverance","tag-psalm-3418","tag-purify","tag-rejoice","tag-robin-caddell","tag-romans-828","tag-testing","tag-trials","tag-troubles","tag-womens-ministry","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Psalm34_18.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-3PJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14739","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\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14739"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14866,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14739\/revisions\/14866"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}