The good God is generously at work in our lives.
Esther 2:5-7
Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem…Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
We see here Esther’s ‘unlucky’ start in life in the tragic death of her parents, yet the ‘lucky’ break of having a really good older cousin (Mordecai) who raises her as his own daughter. We wonder at this point in the story how her life will unfold. Will she be ‘lucky’ or ‘unlucky’? We wonder is that the way life works for us all. Is life a roll of the dice? A random chance of good or bad luck? That’s the way life feels for us at times. But the Esther story invites us to recognise the hidden hand of God at work in our lives and in our world – the good God who came as Jesus. On one occasion Jesus said to his followers, “Truly I tell you, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30) We serve the good God who is generously at work in our lives, even in tough times.
Head: Instead of believing life is like a roll of the dice, believe the good God is at work in your life, even in tough times.
Heart: Ask God to enable your heart to believe he is the generous God Jesus speaks of, the God your heart can rely on, even when troubles come.
Hands: Mordecai displayed his love for the good God in his care for his orphaned cousin Esther. Is there a specific practical good action for someone else you can do today as a response to the good God’s love for you?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, instead of believing life is just a roll of the dice, please enable my heart to believe you’re the generous God Jesus speaks of, the God my heart can rely on, even when troubles come. Please show me some specific practical good action I can do for someone today as a response to your love for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
A Song to Listen to: Love Changes Everything
Phil Strong
This Grow Daily was originally posted as part of the Must See Passages series in 2016. During the School Holidays we take the opportunity to look back at the best of Grow Dailys over the years.
