Ryan's Journal

A series on Esther, Pastor Brian Greene. Esther 1 and 1 Kings 17:4-9.

The message was about the Providence of God, the One who 'sees before.' He sees our needs beforehand and has them met when we get there. Our perspective should be this, that we know He's working behind the scenes to 'set a stage' for us so when we show up, we just have to show up. Instead of us trying to fashion our own props on our stages, we may need to lay off and wait. In the first chapter of Esther, God is conspiring (by custom, character trait, and circumstance) to get Esther into the place of queen in the second chapter, chronologically three or four years after the first chapter. Esther had nothing to do with the events that followed, but they were set in place for her before she ever got there.

To go without that perspective and try to barge in on the stage too early, before it's set, is like introducing Adam to the world on the first day instead of the sixth - he doesn't have anything available to him to live off of. We can't really build the entire stage on our own. That's His job.

Our attitude must be right before we can move on to whatever stage He's setting up next, though. If, like Elijah, we're being fed by some nasty ravens and can still thank God for being alive, then He can move us on to be blessings to others, like the widow at Zaraphath. And if we can thank God for that, He can move us to a place where we defeat Satan, like the contest on Mt. Carmel against the priests of Baal.

Other perspective-giving scripture: Psalm 31:14-15, Romans 8:28, Lamentations 3:24-25, Proverbs 21:1.

It's good to be fed. I think I'm drawing near to the stage, but I've got to let Him set me straight before I get there.

And I now have a certificate of membership for Pentecostal Tabernacle :)

On a totally unrelated note, Pastor Greene mentioned that Queen Vashti bore King Xerxes' child, Artaxerxes, the king whom Nehemiah served. That was a 'woah' moment. One of these days I'm going to put together a chronology of the books of the Bible online. Then maybe I'll try to map out some of the relationships in RDF. Sorry, in a nerdy mood.

You must login to leave a comment