Today’s scripture: Esther 1:2-3, 10-23 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Brenda Corbello):
The story of Esther in the Old Testament is confusing for me at times. It’s hard for me to imagine that God would want (or even condone) for one gender to be subservient to another.
On its face, that is what it appears the first chapter of Esther is telling us, that if a woman is not subservient to a man bad things can happen to her. Even though the man is very powerful, and can have anything he wants, he is willing to forego having this beautiful woman as his wife for no other reason than she did not do what he said on this one occasion. He seems to be more concerned about the appearance of his own power than even his own happiness. It does not even make sense to me.
But what if this story has nothing to do with that at all? What if this story is meant to show us that things are not always as they appear? I know that there have been many times in my life when some really bad things were happening to me, and I could not seem to understand why. Looking back, years later, it almost seems like these things had to happen that way to make me the person that I am today.
I grew up in the midst of confusion, poverty, violence, and pain. As a child, I wanted so much to understand why God would allow such things to happen. It certainly did not seem fair on the surface. Other children were allowed to live in the same house for years on end. They ate good food every day. They were allowed to buy new clothes, and as far as I can tell, no one was being beaten up in their house.
But, what happened was, I grew up determined to use whatever gifts God had given me to protect other women and children from similar fates. I obtained a law degree and began representing battered women and abused children. I could feel their pain, and understood the complexity of their situations. The years I spent serving God in this manner are some of the most fulfilling years of my life. Each day I would wake up and pray that God would use me as an instrument of love and compassion. I would ask only that God’s Will, whatever that may be, to be done that day. By that time I knew that I was never going to be able to understand the immense power of God’s Plan. I already knew that things were not always as they appear on the surface.
God has a Plan for all of us, and whether we can understand it or not is really not all that relevant. For me, it is about faith. I believe that Esther had faith that if she lived according to what she believed to be God’s Will, even if that meant being subservient to men, that things would work out in the end. I want to be mindful of the faith of Esther every day, and trust that God is in control.
Thought for the day: God, show me how to have the faith of Esther. I may not always understand Your Plan, but let me always trust that You know what is best. Wrap my heart in Your love so that I may feel secure in a world that seems to be in such disarray. Help me to remember that sometimes all is not as it seems.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.