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Lessons Learned from the Book of Esther

This past Sunday we finished our 6-week discussion study on the book of Esther with our small group. I felt that I came away with a lot of learnings and truths from the story of Esther, Mordecai and how God sovereignly worked behind the scenes in their lives. And to make things more interesting, its a story that's fit for Hollywood.

I was pumped about starting this study as I've never actually read the whole book all the way through. I was familiar with the story in general (Esther uses her position to save the Jewish people), but for some reason or another, I've never actually spent time reading and reflecting on the whole story. And its a pretty cool story. The book starts out with the King banishing his queen from his presence, thus ignighting a search for his new queen. He conducts a royal beauty pageant and ultimately finds Esther (who keeps her Jewish heritage a secret) as his queen. Next, her uncle Moredecai discovers and foils an assasination plot against the king but is never properly recongnized before the king. Fast forward a little bit- a new right hand man comes into the picture, Haman. He's devises a plot to destroy the Jewish race, and in fact, got the king to issue an edict to do so. Mordecai finds out about Haman's plans, pleads with Esther to use her position "for such a time as this", and convinces her to present her request before the King. The King sides with Esther, celebrates Mordecai (instead of Haman), and justice is served in the end. What an amazing turn of events! Here you're presented with a dark and bleak situation, asking yourself, "where is God in this picture?", with no hope in sight. But God was there, faithful to His promises and delivers His people from the hands of the enemy.

There are loads of other impactful passages and thoughts and you could probably spend many more weeks studying this story. As we prepared each week, and Jen and I talked over some thoughts, I felt that there were new and fresh things that God was bringing into the picture. Here are some of my favorite takeaways:

1. Even though God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, He is clearly at work. Definitely a solid reminder for me, as I feel like I'm asking myself that question often nowadays--with regards to my family, my career, where I should be serving, my relationships, etc. Even when He may not show up the way I expect Him to show up, I want to remember that He is sovereign and in control.
2. Comebacks are awesome. I remember watching Monday Night Football back in 2003, seeing Peyton Manning rally the Colts from a 35-14 deficit with four minutes left in regulation, eventually winning on a FG in overtime. That was the most amazing sports comeback that I’ve ever witnessed. It can be described that the book of Esther is about a comeback as well. The outcome seems hopeless, but then God saves the day. Love it.
3. Stay faithful regardless of the circumstances. Modecai's example certainly challenged me to this. He was shoved to the side. He was ridiculed. He wasn't given a chance. But, he still put his trust in the Lord. Even when the future looked grim, he was faithful. And when the situation turned, he seized the opportunity (whether it was encouraging Esther or speaking into her life). I felt that there was much to learn from Mordecai's example about how we as men can lead the women in our lives (whether spiritually,  or encouraging them to pursue thier passions, or leading where they are).
4. Wholehearted commitment is what God wants. Jen and I talked with the students at church about wholehearted commitment a month or so ago. I feel like a lot of parallels can be made with this and what happens in the first couple chapters in Esther. With Mordecai, you could say he was showing commitment to God right then. Because of his faith, his life was marked by change by standing up and not bowing. In Esther, she didn’t just say “sorry, I’m comfortable, I can’t do anything right now” (Similar to Moses’ initial response in Exodus).. No, they both acted and there was evidence in their lives.
5. "For such a time as this" moment. Esther 4:14 is probably, by far, one of the more popular (and favorite) verses in the book. We posed this question at the end of the study. What is my "for such a time as this" moment? Is there a connection or relationship that I need to take advantage of? Do I have a gift or talent that that God is calling me to use? Challenging stuff to chew on.

 All in all, our small group had some great discussion over the last six weeks. Those who faciliated posed some challenging questions, and ultimately we dove into what God was wanting to teach and show.

"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" - Esther 4:14 (NIV)

Have you read through Esther? Thoughts? What is your "for such a time as this" moment?