Today’s scripture: Esther 5:1-8 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Kristin Herrmann):
In today’s scripture Esther presents herself before the king, a risky thing for a woman to do in her time without invitation. Obtaining the king’s attention, she then invites him to a banquet. At that banquet, she invites him to a second banquet. Instead of seeking relief for her people (the reason she was there in the first place), she strings the king along until he is right where she wants him, in a state of mind where he will likely grant her request.
What a woman! Not only does she go where no woman was permitted to go, but she plays with fate by delaying her request to the king. She’s so brave, so calm and cool and collected. She proves that some people are made with more strength than others. . .
Hold on there. While it’s accurate that Esther went before the king and waited until the second banquet, I don’t think we should infer that her actions were part of a calculated plan she was born specifically to execute. It’s not accurate to assume someone who has great strength is made any differently than you or me.
The New American Bible provides additional information regarding the first meeting:
“[Esther] glowed with the perfection of her beauty and her countenance was as joyous as it was lovely, though her heart was shrunk with fear. . . As [the king] looked up, his features ablaze with the height of majestic anger, [Esther] staggered, changed color, and leaned weakly against the head of the maid in front of her. But God changed the king’s anger to gentleness.”
Esther was scared to perform her task, just as you and I experience fear when we decide to do the right thing, which often is not the easy thing. We cannot sit back and let others do great things for humanity, our family, our company, or our friend because they possess courage we could only dream of.
When I was in law school, I asked one of my classmates why we found the courses to be so hard when our fellow students would boast about how they found the lessons easy. “They’re lying,” she replied. Granted, some of our classmates found the work more challenging than others, but I understood her point. We want to project strength and confidence, but what’s on the outside is not always what’s on the inside.
Don’t let fear keep you from the greatness within.
Thought for the day: What fear do I need to face to further my relationship with God?
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.