The Lord’s Timing

Esther 5:8

8Then Esther said, My petition and my request is: If I have found favor in the sight of the king and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the dinner that I shall prepare for them; and I will do tomorrow as the king has said.

The Lord’s Timing

               Most of us are familiar with the story of Esther, young Jewish girl raised by her cousin Mordecai.  The Jews had been led as captives in Babylon and Mordecai was employed in the King’s court.  Vashti, the former queen of Babylon had been disposed for her insubordination and Esther had been selected in her stead.  Esther, whose former name was Hadassah, had not disclosed her race or background.  Then we have Haman, the Agagite, who had been promoted by King Ahasuerus to be the chief of the princes under him.  Haman had a deep-seated hatred of the Jews and Mordecai in particular, because he refused to pay homage to him.  Haman had devised a plot and sold it to the king that there was a certain group of people scattered among the king’s domain who were different and didn’t keep the king’s laws so they needed to be annihilated.  The king had allowed it be passed into the law that on a certain day this genocide would take place.  The only hope for the Jewish nation and people now rested with Eshter.  Eshter is in a very precarious situation and a wrong move on her part could cost her life and the life of her people.  Our scripture today brings us to the place where Esther has taken a great risk in coming before the king without him summoning her.  He has received her and she has invited him and Haman to a dinner.  Yet at this first dinner she doesn’t rush to the point and present her request or beg for people’s lives.  We see her inviting them back again for another dinner the next day.  Now the king knows that Esther has a petition and is more than willing to grant it to her but she waits to disclose it.  Why does she wait?

               Throughout the story we see God at work setting people and events in place to deal with this design to destroy His people.  We see God doesn’t come in and just take charge and supernaturally change the course of events, but He is at work in and through the lives of His people whose hearts and minds are right with Him.  We see how Esther has been called and set in a position for such a time as this, but more than that, we see a woman who is willing to be obedient even at the risk of her own life. We also see a woman who has given herself to fasting and prayer to prepare herself for what she must do.  She has tuned into the Lord’s counsel and she has committed herself into His hands and is reliant upon His wisdom to guide her.  At this point in the story we find her not sharing her story with the king, but waiting.  The principle that we can see here is that we need to be sensitive to the Lord’s timing.  As we read further in the story we realize all that God is working is not quite in place yet.  Had she disclosed her petition at this time the results would not have been the same. 

               There are times we get a word from the Lord, but then we just run with it and don’t continue to stay tuned into Him and wait for His timing.  When we fall on our face we get back up dazed and confused at why God didn’t come through for us.  We may have just got ahead of His timing.  There is a time and season for all things and it is important that we learn to be sensitive to when God’s time is.  God’s time is most often, not our time, but if we want to see supernatural results then we had better get in tune with God’s timing.  It is one thing to hear from the Lord and it is another to move in His time.  Be sensitive to the timing of the Spirit.

Blessings,

#kent

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A Time for every Purpose under Heaven

A Time for every Purpose under Heaven

Ecclesiastes 3:1
To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Our lives are made up of many seasons and one thing about life is that it never stays the same and time never stands still. Life is a dynamic that is always in motion, interacting with the lives around it. The one constant that we have is God’s Word and it doesn’t change, but it does contain wisdom and direction for our lives in whatever season and time we find ourselves in. There are times we feel like we have control over some of the things in our lives and others when we seem to have no control at all. But again, the one constant that we have is the Lord in our lives, who never leaves us or forsakes and is with us in good times and in the bad. He is the One through and with whom we travel every season of our life and desire to find His purpose. It is not always easy to know what God’s purpose is at times in our lives. We don’t always understand His hand, why He does or doesn’t do things the way we have prayed or hoped. We can only trust His heart, because we know that all of His ways are right and just and that His nature is love.
It is important that, just as God is with us in every season and purpose of our lives, we are there for one another, sharing each other’s life experiences and encouraging one another through the process. Sometimes we are the salt God has prepared to place in the wound of ones that are hurting. Sometimes we are there to share in the excitement and joy of a precious moment or happening. What God is working in each of us is that we are a people for all seasons, equipped and furnished unto every good work. Our preparation is through our own life experiences and learning to walk with the Lord through each one. Galatians 6:9-10 tells us, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all [men], especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” A lot of things come in there own good time which often isn’t as soon as we think it ought to be. The Lord exhorts us to just keep on in well doing towards others and especially our brethren and eventually we will see that we will reap what we sow.
As we move through the changing times and seasons of our lives learn to rest in the Lord in whatever place you are in, don’t get anxious or upset, but look to the Lord to teach you in that place. Ask Him what He wants to work in you. Trust Him and be faithful in both the hard and the easy places, in the good times and the bad. Don’t grow discouraged, defeated or weary in your well doing for the Lord is our portion and our blessing and as the Word says, “in due season we will reap, if we faint not.” Let us be there for one another encouraging and helping one another, sharing our life experiences together. For there is a time and a season for every purpose under heaven and the Lord is a part of them all. Let us trust and walk with Him through each one.

Blessings,
#kent

What God does to us or for us?

What God does to us or for us?

Job 42:1-6
Then Job replied to the LORD : 2 “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

How many of us have gone through times in our lives when we have experienced such pain, sorrow or disappointment at circumstances that have come upon us or happened to us? We question, “God where are you, where were you and why did you let this happen to me”? There are those of us who have gotten angry, offended and hurt because we felt that the Lord let us down and He didn’t meet our expectations in the ways that we thought He should have. Perhaps God would ask us, as He did Job, ‘Who is this that obscures council without knowledge?’ God is the Magnificent One that created the Universe, the earth and all of the mysteries and wonders contained therein. Would we be so bold as to compare our wisdom and understanding with His? If what God says in Romans 8:28 is true, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified,” then we must believe that God is working for our good. Jesus never makes the promise to deliver us from tribulation. In fact, He says just the opposite, “…In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). To the natural mind, life often isn’t fair and it doesn’t always make sense. It is in these times that we must rely upon our faith to bridge the gap between our understanding and God’s plan. Often what we thought was the enemy coming against us, in retrospect, we see the hand of God was working through what seemed to be a negative circumstance to bring us into God’s plan and higher will for our lives. It serves to stretch us and takes us to places we would never go on our own.
Let us not be so foolish as to attempt to pass judgement upon God for allowing things to happen to us. His ways are so much higher than our ways and His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts. Job thought He had a pretty good handle on understanding God till His world and theology got turned upside down. The one thing that Job never lost was faith and trust in the Lord. I think that with many of us it will be as it was with Job when he said, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” When we really come into the revelation and presence of God and all that He is we will repent that we ever questioned, doubted or spoke negative of Him.
God is not doing things to us; He is doing things for us. Our understanding may not comprehend it, but our trust has to receive it and know that God’s nature is to work in our behalf. Even when that means we are crushed in the process, it is because He does love us and sees the end from the beginning. We see in terms of time and earthly values. God sees in eternity and kingdom values. God values you. Even when you don’t understand His hand, trust His heart. God is for you, trust Him and rest in His wisdom, love and council.

Blessings,
kent