Of Pride & Fear: Esther

[Esther 1:1-22]

The story of Vashti’s demise in the book of  ’Esther’, is well known to be due to nothing but pride, but I believe that fear was also a big factor.

¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, ¹¹ to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. ¹² But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.

1. FEAR

Vashti may have been the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, but she may have not been confident in who she was, or in the position of prestige she held. she may have felt insecure about her appearance, and perhaps uncomfortable with being the center of attention and being such an epitome of what every woman in the kingdom should be. Her refusal to attend the banquet may have well been a result of all these.

Fear and lack of confidence paralyzes us and could cause us to miss many blessings opportunities. We must learn to conquer fear if we expect to fulfill our God-given purposes. We must be confident in the works of the Lord in our lives, and walk in His security without being consumed by pride. If God has sent an opportunity to knock on your door, do not be afraid to open it. Stop peering through the windows and listening through the walls. Grab a hold of the door knob,and Open in faith! Do not allow fear to conquer you. YOU conquer IT through the authority given to you by GOD. ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline’.[2 Timothy 1;7].

2. PRIDE;

She knew her position, and was overly confident in the fact that she was the ‘it girl’ in the kingdom, and therefore became complacent. She believed in her heart that there was no competition; No match for her throne, and therefore chose to not make that appearance as requested by her king. This led to her demise and dethronement.

We too, can often enter a state of complacency when God grants us certain desires of our hearts. We start believing and priding ourselves in those gifts so much to the extent of forgetting that just as it was given, it could be taken. we begin to put things off, in a false ‘knowledge’ that we have security in it. The most common place we find complacency is with our gifts. And in our walks with God. We can often come to a certain place in both areas, where we feel as though we have the right to behave in whichever manner we please,because after all…it’s ‘Ours’! We forget our humble beginnings and start to believe we have ‘arrived’, and NOTHING can destroy what ‘we’ have created. This scene in the book of Esther teaches us Humility. it is imperative that we realize complacency and pride are our worst enemies, and must never permit ourselves to be consumed by either, because it will only lead to shame. Our position, our life, everything we possess, are all borrowed, and if God chooses, He can take them back at any moment. Be humble, For pride comes before a fall, but humility before honor.

God Loves YOU Matchlessly,
Raessie

Lessons in Loyalty: Ruth

^{[Ruth Chapter 1:6-17]}

¹⁴ Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.¹⁵ And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶ But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you,Or to turn back from following after you;For wherever you go, I will go;And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;Your people shall be my people,And your God, my God.¹⁷ Where you die, I will die,And there will I be buried…”

Ruth’s determination to cling to Naomi despite her circumstances shows how we should behave in face of adversity. It’s so easy to count our blessings when our waters are calm without disturbance, but should our waves slightly undulate, we get so eager to run ashore. When negative situations arise, we should never allow them a chance to drive us from God’s presence or our blessings. As Ruth relented in-spite of Naomi’s attempts to persuade her to give up and move on, so must we must persist and resist the temptation to run away, no matter how much our circumstances causes us to endure. Let us be loyal to God in times of despair, and not permit our situations to drive us to fleshly decisions . It is through our weakness and difficult circumstances that God shows himself strong, and through our lacking  that He delivers the greatest blessings. Be patient; Wait on the the Lord.

God Loves YOU Matchlessly,
Raessie
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The Cost Of Looking Back

“But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”(Luke 9:62)

Lot and his wife were directly instructed not to look behind on what God was removing them from when the time came to depart, but rather press on towards the safe place secured and prepared for them.  Lots wife however, chose to disobey God and dwell on what she was leaving behind. Her heart was not willing to receive the salvation God had for her, and she was therefore Left behind.

We too, tend to look behind when God wants us to march on and as a result, miss many beautiful blessings the Father had in store for us. God desires to deliver us from the many things that afflict us and hold us captive, but 90 percent of the time, we stand in the way of our own deliverance. We’d rather count what we are losing as a result of the deliverance, than see the gain of  freedom from a bondage that keeps us tangled in the works of the flesh, and slave to the enemy.
As believers, we are called to leave the world behind the moment we accept Christ as our savior. We are to be in the world, but not of it..yet we can sometimes become so wrapped up in the things of the world that we hinder ourselves from moving on to the higher spiritual places God calls us to.  Lot’s wife teaches us that disobedience not only costs our destinies to be stagnant, but that it also prevents us from seeing the promises of God come to fruition.
So, Will you continue to look behind as God is calling you to march forward, Or will you march on straight into your destiny.

No matter what you’re leaving behind, Let your heart choose to cling to God, rather than to the world. The cost of looking back, is too high to disobey the instructions of the Lord.

God Loves YOU Matchlessly,
Raessie
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