Veroni's Views

The book of Esther describes the difficult circumstances Queen Esther found herself in.  It demanded a dramatic decision on her part.  Her uncle Mordechai encouraged her with a rhetorical question:  

And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4.14

What Mordechai is actually saying is that Esther’s position is not by chance.  She is where God wants her to be at the specific time.

You and I are not where we are by coincidence.  God wants us in the place where we are and at the present time.

God has plans for:
*          Individuals

Psalm 139.16

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

*          Nations

Acts 17.26

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

What should we do?

Cling to the faith.

Hebrews 10.38  “But my righteous one will live by faith.”

We are strange people, who live with view to a future you can only expect by faith, who obey a God you can only know by faith.  Yet that is our strongest weapon, to live by faith.

Paul says “we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5.7)  That is why we are able to live by the paradoxical comparisons in 2 Corinthians 4.7-10:

7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 4.8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 4.9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 4.10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”  

We are called on to persevere.

Hebrews 10.36  “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

By God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can press forward regardless of what circumstances may bring.

We have the assurance that our perseverance will bring rewards: “Therefore, …stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians  15.58).

Rather than focusing on our difficulties, let us look at some positive consequences of difficult circumstances

We have the opportunity to appraise relationships. 

With ourselves – forced lack of social contact and activities give us the opportunity to look at ourselves again.

With God – come to know Him as the ever-present One at all times, good and bad.      

With other people – when we cannot hide behind being busy or out-and-about.

We also have the opportunity to reappraise the concept of “church.”  We realize that “church” is not the building in which we gather, but is in the people.

The outcome of Esther’s radical commitment was the salvation of the Jewish people and the destruction of their enemies.

We know already what the ultimate outcome for us is going to be: recognition that Jesus is Lord, and that God is over all.

Wise words from one of my daughters (Veronique):  Don’t worry about us, Pappie, we have the anointing for our time.  The same is true for everyone of us: You and I have the anointing for such a time as this.