Ep.1063: Is This the Moment You Were Created For? (Part II)
Powerful life lessons from Esther's story for Christians today
CHAPTERS
Theme Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Sometimes we are called by destiny. Queen Esther of the Old Testament showed us what can happen when circumstances open the door for uncharacteristic heroism. In Part 1, we told the story of how a Jewish teenage girl kept her calm and found a way to save her people at great personal risk. She worked within the constraints of her ancient society to rise to the highest level attainable, all while remaining focused and humble. Her story has inspired people for centuries and left scholars to dissect its literary construction and contemporary significance. As with much of the Bible, there are layers of lessons to explore, and Esther is no exception! Esther’s story can be seen to parallel the walk of a Christian in thought-provoking and unique ways. What do Esther’s experiences teach us about our faith and our choices?
As Christians, we are given an amazing opportunity to follow in Jesus' footsteps. In order to do so, we need to really focus on the accomplishment of God’s sill. This is a good start. We then need to push our earthly flesh and desires aside so we can to do the things the footsteps of Jesus dictate. You and I both know how hard this can be, as there are so many moving parts.
It all centers on our human mind which is the control hub of everything. Success or failure is possible based on the direction the mind takes. What determines its direction comes from two opposing forces. First, we have our human fleshly desire which has always been our mind's most persuasive counselor. Opposing the fleshly influence on our mind is the “new mind” God gives us when we answer the call to Christ. It is driven by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. How do we push the right buttons and find Christian victory?
Sometimes it is easier to look into your own thoughts and experiences by looking at an external example. With a little creativity, the story of Esther actually plays this out for us in a spectacular way. Check out our March 4, 2019 podcast, “Is this the Moment You were Created For?” to see how it works. We take the characters in the story of Esther and assign them to be the parts of our individual Christian lives that are so vital to our faithfulness. We look at the inner working of our human mind, the influence of our flesh, the power of God’s Spirit and our new Christian mind all interacting. We place them all on a stage and we can readily begin to see ourselves in the mirror.
Queen Esther saves her people. She does this by listening to the wise and godly Mordecai, influencing the king and foiling his evil counselor’s plots of murder. This not only adds up to an exciting real life adventure, it also adds up to a better understanding of our own personal internal struggle to be faithful. What could be better than a drama that teaches us personal Christian conviction?
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