Does God Sometimes Seem Absent From Your Life?
During the story of Esther, at times early on, it might seem hard to see how God was present. In fact, the literary device in this book was literally not to use God’s name during this great and wonderful story of this amazing woman. But God’s overwhelming working is clear and implicit throughout this entire OT saga – and He is working in your life, whether you think He is or not, just as He was in Esther’s!
Looking at actual examples of God working behind this drama, we see…the character and plans of Haman serving as a great illustration. Haman intended to kill Mordecai (Esther 5:14) for not paying homage to him (Esther 3:5). However, in what some erroneously might call “twists of fate,” the keen reader more accurately sees God sovereignly working behind the scenes. A clear inconsistency occurs between the expected and actual results in the sequence of events between these two characters. First, Haman erroneously plans an elaborate king’s honor thinking it was for himself (Esther 6:7-9). The king ends up commanding Haman to give it to the hated Mordecai (Esther 6:10-11). Next, the gallows Haman builds for Mordecai to be hanged on are actually used by the king to hang Haman himself (Esther 7:10). After his death, Mordecai is set over Haman’s house (Esther 8:1), Haman’s sons are killed (Esther 9:10), and Mordecai the Jew was made second in command of the Persian kingdom (Esther 10:3). How did that happen when Haman had Mordecai all set to be killed, had the power to pull off the execution, and Haman’s plot was in flight, seemingly to be set up perfectly, by human standards?
In regard to the Jewish people, Haman intended to murder them all (Esther 3) and actually influenced King Ahasuerus to create an edict to do so (Esther 3:11). By the end of chapter 3, the reader might even question where God is in all of this and His faithfulness to His people if Haman’s plan was successfully executed. However, as seen throughout the OT, although the physical seed of Abraham is not faithful to Yahweh, God is still faithful to them. Later in this book, the Jewish race is not only saved, but is allowed by the king to destroy its own enemies (Esther 9). The feast of Purim (Esther 9:20-32) celebrating God’s salvific act was instituted and is still celebrated to this day.
As seen in the plans of Haman, God in His sovereignty will influence human actions, even those not originally intended for His purpose, and influence them for His will to be done. Although God’s name is not mentioned in these events, His sovereign orchestration and Yahweh’s preservation of Abraham’s seed were clearly evident. And guess what, He’s is working in your life too, whether you know it or not!!!
You cooperating with His amazing plans He has for your life and reaping the glorious rewards? He is feverishly working all the time to save you from your own hanging, and give you a life which will be better than your greatest expectations…will you accept His priceless free gift (Eph 2:8-9)? Or are you in the process of committing eternal suicide, and deciding to turn a blind eye to your eventual death and what eternity will look like for you? If God seems absent from your life and you have decided to make a go of it alone, think again! He’s there to love you….ALWAYS! Take advantage of His loving-kindness, because before you know it, it could be too late to do so. His plans and purposes will be accomplished regardless of your choice (Prov 19:21), and there are absolutely no do-overs (2 Cor 5:8). Start (or renew) your relationship with Him right now and have God be clearly present in your life, guiding you step-by-step (Gal 5:16)! If you are ready to have an intimate personal walk with God, ask me how…I am always available to share the good news with anyone!!!