Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Being Wise at the Right
Time
Esther 7:1-10
Smitha Mathew (Kochamma)
3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have won your favor, O
king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me—that is my
petition—and the lives of my people—that is my request.
According to the book of Esther, Esther was a Jewish orphan who became the queen of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) the Persian king. She was brought up at Susa by her cousin Mordecai, who seems to have held a position among the lower officials of the royal palace. After King Ahasuerus had divorced Vashti, his former queen, he had the most beautiful virgins from all the provinces of the empire brought to the palace of Susa so that he might select her successor. He chose Esther as his queen. Soon after Esther's accession a great crisis threatened the entire Jewish people with destruction. There was a wicked person called Haman, who held the office of a highest official in the kingdom. He planned a plot to destroy the Jewish people. But the name of Esther is forever bound up with the record of their deliverance. This passage points to two important lessons that will help us to meditate today.
Acting at the right time
Any action will be successful only when it is acted at the right time. Esther was wise enough to act at the right time using all her powers to save her people and that resulted in a right intervention. She acted at the right time when she received the favor from the king and used that to save her people. Acting early or acting late may not give us the right results. Acting early might bring overconfidence or pride because some of us think everything is done so there is nothing to worry about. Acting late will also bring a result but it never brings the right one. Esther acted at the right time that resulted in the defeat of their enemy and victory for God’s people. This story invites us to act at the right time using the God given wisdom.
Acting not for the self but for the other
The king said to Esther “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” She could have asked the half of the kingdom but she didn’t do that but asked for the deliverance of her people from the wicked hands of Haman. She could have used the favor from the king for her own self but she used that for the glory of God. We do most of the things for ourselves but what are we doing for the other? Esther is a great example of acting for the other and that was the life of Jesus our Lord; lived, died and living today for the other not for himself.
Esther is giving us a wonderful model today to act at the right time and to act for the sake of the other and that brings a witness to God’s name.
According to the book of Esther, Esther was a Jewish orphan who became the queen of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) the Persian king. She was brought up at Susa by her cousin Mordecai, who seems to have held a position among the lower officials of the royal palace. After King Ahasuerus had divorced Vashti, his former queen, he had the most beautiful virgins from all the provinces of the empire brought to the palace of Susa so that he might select her successor. He chose Esther as his queen. Soon after Esther's accession a great crisis threatened the entire Jewish people with destruction. There was a wicked person called Haman, who held the office of a highest official in the kingdom. He planned a plot to destroy the Jewish people. But the name of Esther is forever bound up with the record of their deliverance. This passage points to two important lessons that will help us to meditate today.
Acting at the right time
Any action will be successful only when it is acted at the right time. Esther was wise enough to act at the right time using all her powers to save her people and that resulted in a right intervention. She acted at the right time when she received the favor from the king and used that to save her people. Acting early or acting late may not give us the right results. Acting early might bring overconfidence or pride because some of us think everything is done so there is nothing to worry about. Acting late will also bring a result but it never brings the right one. Esther acted at the right time that resulted in the defeat of their enemy and victory for God’s people. This story invites us to act at the right time using the God given wisdom.
Acting not for the self but for the other
The king said to Esther “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” She could have asked the half of the kingdom but she didn’t do that but asked for the deliverance of her people from the wicked hands of Haman. She could have used the favor from the king for her own self but she used that for the glory of God. We do most of the things for ourselves but what are we doing for the other? Esther is a great example of acting for the other and that was the life of Jesus our Lord; lived, died and living today for the other not for himself.
Esther is giving us a wonderful model today to act at the right time and to act for the sake of the other and that brings a witness to God’s name.
Prayer: Loving
God teach us to act at the right time and act for the other. In Jesus name we
pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Jesus was ‘the man for the other’