Such a Time as This

The story of Esther is powerful.  Whenever I question the power of fasting and prayer, or my purpose, I turn to Esther to be reminded of the power of our awesome God.

Esther is a beautiful young lady, adopted and raised by her cousin, Mordecai.  

King Xerxes issued a decree to search for a beautiful virgin to become his new queen.   Esther was taken to the king’s palace, instructed by Mordecai not to let anyone know that she was a Jew.

As the story goes, “The king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins.  So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen.” (Esther 2:17)

This is the part of the story where we want to sigh, imagine how romantic that moment must have been, and assume that the King and Queen lived happily ever after.  However, Walt Disney is not the creator of the story of Esther, so let’s enter back into the true purpose of Esther’s favor and reign as Queen.

The king’s highest ranking noble, Haman, was enraged because Mordecai refused to kneel down and pay him honor.  Haman convinced the king to issue a decree to kill all Jews.  

Mordecai sent word to have Esther approach the king to “beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.” (Esther 4:8)  However, unless a person was summoned by the king to approach him, he or she would be put to death.  Esther feared for her life.  

Mordecai said something that made Esther remember who she really was, “And who knows that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14) Esther realized that her life was not her own.  However, she also understood the power of prayer and fasting.  

With great courage, Esther sent word to Mordecai saying, “Go, gather together all the Jews and fast for me.  Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.  I and my maids will fast as you do.  When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law.  And if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

Desperate people are hungry for God and hungry people are desperate.  Esther realized that the life or death of an entire nation rested on her shoulders.  

Fasting opens us up to receive all that God has for us.  He is longing to reveal Himself to us when we surrender our lives to Him, desperate and hungry.  Perhaps we are alive for such a time as this.  Perhaps the life or death of our nation rests on our shoulders as well.  

Stay the Course...

Sheila Cote'

Today’s Prayer:  “Father, thank You for giving us the story of Esther, a woman of courage.  Just like Esther, we know that our lives are not our own.  As we fast and seek You, would You please reveal Yourself to us today?  Show us the purpose that You have created us.  We ask for courage to say “yes” to whatever You ask.  We trust You.  We are desperate and hungry for Your will to be done.  In Jesus name we pray, amen.”

Dramatic Irony

This blog was inspired this morning during a conversation with a dear friend which brought encouragement to my spirit at a most difficult time. We must link arms in this life as we shoulder one another's burdens...

Long, long ago in a faraway land called the Land of Uz, lived a man who was the greatest man among all the people of the East.  This great man had seven sons and three daughters.  He also owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. (Job 1:1-3)

This great man’s name was Job.

One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 

The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” (Job 1:6-8)

As we are introduced to Job in the first chapter of Job, dramatic irony is underway.  Dramatic irony is when the reader, or audience, knows something that the character does not yet know.  God allows us in on a conversation between Himself and Satan after we have just witnessed the blessings bestowed upon the blameless and upright Job.  We find out before Job that his world is about to crumble.

As we continue to read deeper into the plot of Job we are met with chapter upon chapter, almost 40 in total, of the painful trials and tests God permits to fall upon his servant.  Although God’s eye is ever watchful and His ear is ever attuned to Job’s words during the most unbearable of circumstances, Job begins to doubt God’s goodness.

In the middle of the testing of our own faith, God does not pull us aside and whisper, “Don’t fret, Child, this is only a test.  Everything will turn out in your favor; stay strong and be a good witness for Me.”

Job experiences bitterness of soul as he attempts to verbally process all that is happening in his world. (Job 27:2)

Because we, the reader, have been clued in since the first chapter of Job, it’s difficult to follow Job on his tumultuous journey without wanting to shout, “Hang in there, Job; this is a test for your own good!  Stay the course and keep the faith, buddy, God has not forgotten you!”   

Fast forward a couple thousand years--Satan continues to roam through the earth going back and forth in it.  He knows the name of each little town, our little towns.  The irony is that we know that Satan will never be victorious.  We know how his dramatic story ends.

We, as believers, must come together in the war which is raging against our souls.

May I encourage your hearts today regardless the trials and tests you are facing in your own worlds.  We have the gift of the Spirit dwelling in our earthly tents, our bodies.  Do not push God away during this precious time of testing but rather press into Him with all of your strength.

Regardless your circumstances; He is bigger and He is enough.

Listen closely: the bandstands of heaven are cheering you on.  Can you hear the Cloud of Witnesses shouting, “Stay strong, servant of the King! You are righteous! You are holy! Fear not, for we know how your story ends—Glory to the King!”

Stay the Course...

Sheila Cote'

The Whole Truth...So Help Me God

From time to time we are faced with a single decision that may have lifelong consequences.  I am so inspired by this story each time I read it, as well as convicted in my personal representation of Christ.

 

I Kings 22:14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.” 

There is no need to look far when looking for a war story in the Bible.  Just as any war movie, the stories recorded in the Bible are full of both good and evil characters.  

Ahab, king of Israel, was a king who did evil in the eyes of the Lord (I Kings 21:20).  It is recorded that there was never a man like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by his evil wife, Jezebel (vs. 25). 

Ahab was unable to see his own sin against God.  Blinded by envy and hatred, he thought that true men of God were his enemy.  

When Ahab wanted to fight against Ramoth Gilead, he asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah to go to war with him.  Jehoshaphat agreed that he would if Ahab would first seek the counsel of the Lord. 

So the king of Israel brought together about four hundred prophets to ask them if he should go to war against Ramoth Gilead.  However, the prophets were not prophets of the Lord and they in turn all told him what he wanted to hear, “Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”

But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”  The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad.  He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” (I Kings 22:7&8)

So they sent for Micaiah, son of Imlah.  Those who were sent for him filled him in on what was happening and coached him on what he was to prophesy to King Ahab by saying to him, “Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king.  Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.” (vs. 13)

Micaiah’s next words are not prefaced by sharing with us the inner battle he must have been feeling.  Instead we are told that Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”  

Micaiah went on to describe to the king what the Lord had shown him and how the Lord had given permission for a lying spirit to go out into the mouths of all the other prophets.  

Had there been a popularity contest at that moment, Micaiah would have surely lost.  Although he was outnumbered 400 to 1, he told the king that all the other prophets were liars.  And for speaking the truth, going against the popular vote, he was put in prison and given nothing but bread and water.

Sometimes the cost of being a disciple requires everything we have, possibly our very lives. 

As the story continues, we learn that Micaiah was right and the false prophets were wrong. 

Micaiah went on to serve the Lord as did his children.  

Micaiah’s story stops me dead in my tracks.  I am forced to ask myself, “Am I willing to be obedient to follow God regardless the cost?  Am I willing to lose a popularity contest when truth must be spoken?”  

Like Micaiah, I pray that our legacy of richness in truth and servitude for our Lord will be passed down to our children; each generation reaching the next generation as we choose to spend our lives living boldly, speaking the truth of the Gospel, regardless the cost.  

Stay the Course...

Sheila Cote

The Voice

The Voice premiered on NBC last week.

I love The Voice.

The blind auditions begin and we are given the backstory of the contestant preparing to take the stage.  Talented singers take the stage to see if their voice alone can turn the chair of one or more of the four judges whose backs have been turned against them.  Singers calm their nerves and belt out the first notes of their songs.  It is only after a judge hits his or her “I Want You” button that their chair is turned around so they can see the person behind the voice for the first time.

This morning as I was singing to God alone in my room, I thought about The Voice.  As I stood in total abandon belting out the words of one of my favorite songs, I closed my eyes and imagined the throne of God.  I thought about the fact that God knows each one of our voices before we open our mouths.  The scripture says, “From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (Matthew 12:34)  Just as the judges on The Voice are able to catch a glimpse of a contestant’s heart without seeing them; each one of us reveals our own hearts by the words that come out of our mouths.

I rejoice when a judge chooses a contestant whom does not bear resemblance of what America has come to determine as “star worthy.”  Years of pain and rejection make the brave walk to center stage as the audience holds their breath in hushed silence waiting to see if redemption will be found within the hearts of the judges. 

Some contestants wear their broken hearts on their sleeves while others wear a brave face preparing for rejection, silently praying for acceptance.

Secretly, we are all wanting the judges to hit their “I Want You” buttons as much for ourselves as for the person sweating it out on stage.  When the judges accept a voice that somehow fits in a body not worthy of its match, we cheer and celebrate.  Our own pains and rejections somehow vindicated through the life of a stranger brave enough to risk it all one more time.

As I open my mouth to sing, I close my eyes and remember the One who risked it all, taking on my pain and rejection.  His sacrifice redeemed a life not worthy of redemption.  

Before we open our mouths to reveal our deepest fears and our greatest hopes, He is eagerly awaiting to hear the voice of His beloved.  

However, it is not our voice that must be heard.  Instead, we must train our ears to hear the only Voice worthy of praise and awe.  

The Judge has hit His “I Want You” button before we took our first breaths.  His deep desire is that we know His voice.  He speaks to us in a whisper; He speaks to us loudly in the middle of our storms.  He speaks to us through people, through His creation and through His Holy Word.  We need only be still and listen. 

I love The Voice.

Stay the Course...

Sheila Cote