Esther: God's Perfect Work Through Imperfect PeopleSample

God Is Always Working

The closing section of Esther celebrates the saving of God’s people and serves as a recap of why the Jewish festival of Purim was to be celebrated. God saved his people; good triumphed over evil.

As we conclude the book, we could take many reflections from it. When we see how Esther courageously spoke up to the king for her own people, we can consider who in our lives might need us to speak up for them. While we may not be in a position of great authority, there are no doubt people in our lives who we could still help. There are people in our lives who we can still love, meet a financial need, or advocate for. Will we be willing to do it?

We also see in Esther that God always delivers his people. Even when it doesn’t seem like he will. Even when we can’t comprehend a way that he will. Who would have thought at Jesus’ crucifixion that salvation was being offered to the entire world? One day Jesus will return again, and on that day all the pains and troubles of this life will be made right. God’s people will be delivered once and for all.

Finally, we see that just because we might not understand what God is doing, that doesn’t mean he isn’t working. Before Haman rose to power and planned his destruction of the Jewish people, God was making a way that the Jewish people would be saved. This is who our God is.

He uses imperfect people, broken systems, and even evil schemes to accomplish his purposes. And even if you can’t see what God could possibly be doing right now, we have no idea how your suffering might be used for great good in the future. Will you have the faith to trust him?

Today’s reflection

Think back to a time in the past when you didn’t see God working until after you saw the entire picture. How does that encourage you to trust him with what you aren’t seeing now?

Going Deeper

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