For Such A Time

 

For God
so loved the world

He gave His
only Son

for such
a time as this

let’s humble ourselves
and come.

**********

You establish times of deliverance.

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“Esther told Hathach to go back and relay this message to Mordecai: ‘All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days.’ So Hathach gave Esther’s message to Mordecai.”

“Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: ‘Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for such a time as this?’ “

“Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ‘Go and gather all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.’ So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.”

Esther 4:10-17

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Image from The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp , page 175.

Trouble Comes

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes.”  Job 3:26

This verse comes at the end of the chapter, where Job cursed the day he was born.

Lord, we are so thankful that we can cry out to You when trouble comes.  And here is a simple poem . . .

Un-Easy

source – blog-by-the-sea.typepad.com

Traveling back and forth
searching to and fro
trouble’s always looking for
someplace it can go.

Coming uninvited
laying us low
God doesn’t expect us
to not say so.

Seeking The Good

“For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of His brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his kindred.”  Esther 10:3

I have caught myself judging someone for being  judge-y.

Lord, I desire to actively seek the good of Your people and to speak peace to them.  And here is a simple poem . . .

When We Love One Another

The Triumph of Mordecai
source – chinaoilpaintinggallery.com

May we seek good
for each other

speaking words of peace
from deep within

loving as
we are commanded

that He may draw
more and more to Him.

When The Opposite Occurs

“On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them.”  Esther 9:1

When the villain is taken away in the G-rated movies she watches, our youngest often says, “That’s what happens when you do bad things.”

Lord, forgive me and change my heart each day so that I do not despise or hold anyone in contempt.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

Over Powered

source – news.bbc.co.uk

Over and over
we see God’s hand
what was meant to harm
is turned to good again
for in God’s Kingdom
evil can’t exist
and we rejoice
having rest from it.

“How Can I Endure?”

“For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people?  Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”  Esther 8:6

May my heart be as broken as Esther’s for my people.

Lord, let me not grow apathetic to the evil and destruction around me.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

Asking

eo.wikipedia.org
Dosiero Mourning Angel

How could we endure
the loss of our loved ones

or of this nation
coming more and more undone

but for the hope of mercy
we cry out and ask You

by the power of Your Spirit
may many more yet come.

No Compensation

“For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”  Esther 7:4

We can’t be snatched away from our King.

Lord, thank You for valuing us and treasuring us , for keeping and covering us from the schemes of the enemy.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

For We Are His

How could the enemy
ever compensate
for taking one
of His own away?

Source – wikipedia / The Crucifixion (1622) by Simon Vouet
Church of Jesus, Genoa

For He paid
the highest price for us
guarding us closely
every moment of the day.

Wanting More (For Others)

“So Haman came in, and the king asked him, ‘What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?’  Now Haman thought in his heart, ‘Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?’ ”  Esther 6:6

When I was a new born believer, struggling with “self” confidence and low “self” esteem, God told me three little words . . .”Think of others.”

Lord, help us to want for others more than we want for ourselves.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

Found Wanting

source – oneyearbibleblog.com

“Who could the king want
to honor more than me?”

set Haman up
for a catastrophe

but, “who could I want
great things for today?”

delights the King
and so I pray.

A Banquet For The King

“And the king said to her, ‘What do you want, Queen Esther?  What is your request?  It shall be given to you – up to half my kingdom’.”

“So Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him’.”  Esther 5:3-4

Esther first honored and served the king.

Lord, I thank You that I can come to You at any time with anything, but first desire to bring You honor and glory and praise.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

Honoring Him

source – The Feast of Esther by Jan Lievens, 1625
North Carolina Museum of Art

Could it be
as I come to You
with a burden
on my heart

that as I first
praise and worship You
the problem
may depart?

Escape?

“Then Mordecai told them to answer Esther, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.””  Esther 4:13

We can come to feel that we won’t have to face what others are going through.

Lord, we desire to be trained and prepared by You, for all that lies ahead of us.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

For Such A Day

Do not think
what is happening elsewhere
cannot happen to you

for you are Mine
and because of that
you will suffer too

though trials,  persecution
and hardships come
your way

I have planned
and placed you here
for just such a day.

 

Words That Stand

“Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.”  Esther 3:4

God’s Word will stand forever.

Lord, we desire to live upon the sureness of Your Word.  And here’s a simple poem . . .

Staying Power

source – fess2.blogspot.com

Promises I’ve kept
and broken

the words I
write and say

will not
last forever

but Yours, Oh Lord
will stay.