Esther (One): The Lord’s Greater Plan

Good morning

In the next few messages we are going to have a look from the book of Esther at how the LORD foresaw what was coming and prepared the way to save his people. Sometimes we do not understand what the LORD does in our lives when things do not go as anticipated, for we try to see it from our perspective and how we want things to be for us. The LORD however has a greater plan and people, which include us, are used to accomplish His plan. Although we are very important to Him and He loves us very much and will never let harm come to us, His plans are higher than us. The lessons we learn in His accomplishing these higher plans through us are invaluable for our spiritual and emotional growth and development, even though they sometimes hurt.

I am looking forward to what the Lord is going to reveal to us through the book of Esther and what He is going to accomplish in our lives.

Jesus told us in Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves,” (KJV). This passage is translated in the NIV as follows: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” In other words He expects of us to be clever, to work with a plan, to be cautious and not to barge into situations in good faith, trusting blindly in Him to clean up the mess behind us. This passage was written in the context of the disciples going into the community, preaching the Good News. As we know from what Paul told Timothy, anybody who does what God expects of us will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12), so this is what Jesus expected the disciples will get. Therefore He prepared them with the above words.

Since we are created in the image of God, this is what He is also like. There are many examples in the Bible of the LORD’s shrewdness and craftiness. Only look at the clever way He had Joseph put in charge of the food during the famine and as a result Joseph had his family looked after, placing them in a position for the LORD to move them into the next phase of His plan for their existence. At the time Joseph certainly did not think it was fun. He had to learn to rest in the fact that the LORD knew what He was doing and that Joseph was on his way to a destiny the LORD had in mind for him. When he was chucked in the hole and then sold to the Ishmaelites, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and in the end thrown into prison, he most assuredly had every right to be bitter and question the LORD’s intentions.

How would we have reacted had we been in his position? It, however, seems that Joseph understood the principle of waiting on the LORD, since He suspected the LORD had a greater plan. It had been a learning curve for him as well though, because he did act quite foolishly when he had received the prophetic dreams and acted in his pride, bringing on him the wrath of his family. This, however, was all part of the LORD’s plan for the nation Israel. This could be read in Genesis 37 & 39-47.

This was one good example of the LORD’s shrewdness, but we are going to look at another example from the book of Esther in the next few messages and then look at our circumstances and how we must be content when the LORD allows things in our lives to accomplish His greater plan.

Lord, help me understand that it is You who work in me to will and to act according to Your good purpose (Philippians 2:13).

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Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

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