Just Go with the Flow

Esther 2 (Esther Made Queen)

(vs 9) The girl pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.

(vs 15b) And Esther won the favour of everyone who saw her

After having 'disposed' of his queen, King Xerxes was asking for all eligible virgins to come to the palace for a year of beauty treatments. The young girl who won his favour would then be his new queen. Esther was a beautiful young Hebrew, brought up by her cousin Mordecai, who was living in the land after being exiled. She was brought to the palace and was asked by Mordecai to conceal her nationality as the Hebrews were not liked in the land.

Here was Esther, in a foreign palace in a foreign land not knowing the future. It wasn't an easy place for her to be. It was most likely really lonely for her and she may not have gotten much support from the other hopeful girls as they could have been jealous of her beauty and special treatment. I'm sure Esther was confused about what God was doing, but she trusted him.

Verse fifteen takes me back to the story of Joseph. Both people, Joseph and Esther, were in difficult, confusing situations but neither moped around just because the road wasn't clear. It's so easy to give up when things don't seem right. We may think what's happening isn't God's plan so we sit down and won't even test to see if this is where God wants us.

Joseph went from the favourite son, to a slave, then to the favourite slave and then to jail for at least 10 years. Most people would think now would be the time to sit down and give up. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. [Genesis 39:21-23]

Both Esther and Joseph trusted God and were willing to do their best no matter what situation they were put in. And god rewarded them, helping them find favour with whoever they came across.

That's the type of attitude God loves. He loves it when people trust him enough to follow him blind folded no matter where he leads. Trusting God in any situation is what makes a grow and become stronger. And God will never ever leave us or give us something we can't handle. Personally, I think that rocks!

Blessings

Vulnerable

Nehemiah 3

(vs 6) The Jeshanah Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They laid its beams and put its doos and bolts and bars in place.
(vs 15) The Fountain gate was repaired by ... He rebuilt it, roofing it over and putting its doors and bolts and bars in place.

The wall of Jerusalem had been burnt and torn down when the Israelites were taken into exile. This meant that Jerusalem was now extremely vulnerable as it doesn't have its protection. The walls of cities were extremely important as they protected the city was enemies, not just rabbits. All the Israelites were doing their best to rebuild the wall.

Do you sometimes feel like Jerusalem? Your wall of protection has been torn down or your world shaken. It makes you feel so open and vulnerable. Or maybe you can relate with the gatews, broken and burning and in great need of a massive fix up and repair. I sometimes feel like that. So what do we do?

Heaps of people came and woked on Jerusalem, fixing it and making it safe again. God can do the same with us. He can refresh us, clean us, repair us and give us sparkling new nuts and bolts (metaphorically). But, it's not always an overnight job. Jerusalem was not repaired over night. The temple alone took years. Someone once told me a story of a stone. It doesn't get smooth without first being constantly rubbed a lot in a current. It can hurt but we grow through it. Take heart and wait for the Lord. The Psalms has a lot of verses on waiting for the Lord and as the song says, 'Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.' [Strength will Rise (Everlasting God)
Brown and Riley]

Blessings

Psalm 37:7 Psalm 38:15 Psalm 40:1 Psalm 135:5-6

So Sure Nothing Can Stop You

Ezra 5-6

(5:11) "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple... "
(6:16) Then the people of Israel - the prests, the levites and the rest of the exiles -celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

After being captured and exiled by King Nebuchadnezzar (how's that for a name!), the Israelites were allowed to go back to rebuild the temple that had been torn down. But in chapter four, the building was suspended due to orders from the king. But two prophets encouraged the Jews to continue so they did, even against the king's orders.
When the governor of the area found out, he asked these guys who they were and why they were rebuilding. Their response : "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple... "
They were very bold and determined in what they were doing. When King Darius heard of this and found the decree of Cyrus (see chapter 1), he wrote a decree allowing the Israelites to continue. He also wrote that whatever was needed was to be provided. So God was taking care of them, they finished the temple and started praising God.

These guys were so sure of what they were doing. They were in foreign land, were in exile but when God told them to rebuild the temple, they did it. They were so sure this was God's plan that they weren't going to let anything stop them, not even a king.

It makes you wonder: Is there anything I'm doing what I'm so sure God has called me to do? That I won't let anything get in the way, such as my reputation, money, time? God's not saying just go out and disobey the rules like these guys didn't listen to the king. What I think he's trying to say is if He's calling you to do something and the world says no, who cares. God's plan is so much more AWESOME.

The other awesome thing is that God provides. God called my sister to go on a mission trip to Brasil one year. She was about $1000 short but she knew this was God's plan. At church on Sunday, someone came up to her, asked her how much she was short and gave her that amount the next week. If God's got a plan for you, nothing's going to get in the way. Money, time and energy is just a miniscule thing. The only thing stopping is disobedience or ignorance. But even then, God doesn't give up.

So, today, pray to see is there's anything God wants you to do. When you know, you can be so sure this is what God wants you to do even if it's crazy. Think about Noah. He was crazy building a boat no where near water but he was confident this was God's plan. Ask God for wisdom, guidance and strength to carry to carry it onto the day of completion. And never stop praising God!!

Have a great time hanging with God