7-27-2015

Good Morning All!!

          Esther 4:16b; “Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

      “You’ve got to know when to hold’em; know when to fold’em.” At least that is what Kenny Rogers told us in “The Gambler” and to many people; life is a gamble.  They often view life and a roll of the dice or of taking chances.  Some call it karma, some call it luck, and some call it fate.  This last one is a good name because most people have a very fatalistic view of their life.  This type of view tends to lead to a somber and somewhat sad life.  It leads to a life with little, if any hope.

    Our verse is from the Book of Esther which is the story of a brave Jewish girl.  About the time that the exiles had left Babylon and went back to Jerusalem, some stayed in Babylon and other Persian cities.  Through a twist, Esther becomes queen.  She is told of a plot to kill all of the Jews that are still living in the Persian kingdom.  In order to prevent this she must speak to and convince the king to stop it.  Yet the king only allows those whom he has summoned to speak to him.  It was unlawful to just go in and speak to the king.  Esther knew that the previous queen had disobeyed the king and she ended up banished, so what to do?  She could obey the law and then she and all of her countrymen would die.  She seems to take this almost fatalistic view that life is a roll of the dice; if I win, I win and if I lose, I lose.  Yet what we see here is actually a great statement of faith.

    Esther isn’t viewing life in a fatal style rather she is viewing it from the knowledge that God is in control.  No matter what happens; God knows the path it will go and has promised to prosper us.  This is a promise we can hold onto with all we have.  God will prosper us, either in this life on earth or in this life in eternal paradise.  This is his promise so that as his people, we can be bold in our lives.  We can live without fear.

    So we can either live in the dark and somber life of fatalism or we can live in the bright and hopeful world of confidence in God’s great promise of salvation and hope.  We can go forward knowing that God is always with us and will always keep us safe.  This can free up all sorts of opportunities for us.  We can speak to that co-worker who always seems sad.  We can speak up for the kid that is always being bullied.  We can reach out to those around who are hurting.  We can forgive; even forgive ourself, because we know that God has a plan and a promise for us.  That plan is to prosper us and the promise is salvation and his eternal presence in our life.  So whether we live or we die, we live and die to Christ and have his eternal promise forever.

Father of mercy, lead me boldly in the paths of your righteousness.  Lead me to walk with confidence in the greatness of your merciful promise to me.  Deliver me from sadness and doubt.  Lead me to be your light in this dark world.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret