Tag: Deliverance

Greatness – Esther 10

Published on by James TravisLeave a comment

Esther 10 is by far the shortest chapter of the book, and if you haven’t read it recently you can do so here. 

On the surface, it seems to be about how great Mordecai is. We see that the King is pretty powerful and mighty (v.2), and that Mordecai was honoured pretty substantially (v.2). Mordecai seems to occupy the role of Prime Minister (v.3), and was well thought of by all he encountered.

The last few words of the book, again, foreshadow and preview Jesus, did you notice?

“…he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.”

As we wrap up Esther, consider these things today;

  1. There are no miracles recorded in the book, yet we still have the sense that God is great.
  2. God’s sovereign plans and purposes all come to pass, yet through the actions and decisions of people with free will.
  3. Esther intervened for her people from a position of influence, from being next to the throne, as does Jesus for you right now (cf. Hebrews 7.25).

We don’t need to get lost in the search for the miraculous, the out-of-the-ordinary, because God is at work in the day-to-day interactions of your life. Where you are, who you are with, when you are there is all part of His good and perfect plan. Partner with Him, join with Him, exercise your God-given free will in a way that glorifies Him and builds up those put in your path. 

Overall through Esther we’ve seen someone taken from relative obscurity (John 1.46), put in a position of honour and influence (Philippians 2.9-11), who intercedes for God’s people in a situation that seems bleak and destined for ruin (John 12.44-50). 

Therein lies the beauty of the Word of God;

are we talking about Esther or are we talking about Jesus?

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus explained to His travelling companions what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. No doubt this story of despair, redemption, victory, seeking God, and providence was part of that. 

Recording and Remembering – Esther 9

Published on by James TravisLeave a comment

How often we forget the good things in our life, the good done to us, how often we forget the good done for us when things get tough.

If you haven’t read Esther 9 recently, you can do so here. 

Expecting and fearing defeat, God’s people find that with the help of the King, the reverse occurred (v.1). Their victory is complete and we see the principle of Romans 8.31 shining through, 

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Interestingly, one line of thinking says that the total victory requested by Esther (v.13) is an outworking of God’s decree in 1 Samuel 15 where the ancestors of Haman (3.1, Haman the Agagite) are destined for destruction. 

God’s people are delivered from death and told to remember their deliverance (vv.20-22).

How quickly we forget the good done to us, for us, with us, the good done on our behalf. Recording the good done for us and remembering it with feasting and gladness, with gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor is never a bad thing, is it?

If God’s people here are told to record and remember their deliverance from earthly circumstances that were leading to death, how much more should we, eternally redeemed through the blood of Jesus record and remember this? 

The recording has already been taken care of, bigger picture, hasn’t it? Read your New Testament and you will see the birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. How this recording looks in your own life is down to you though; Scripture in the home, time spend reading the Word with family, prayer with and for others, daily time with the Lord…your recording will be what you make of it. 

The remembrance is again very personal. There are things we are commanded to do as believers – make disciples, baptism, and communion to name but three. Again, your daily hour-to-hour remembrance is down to you.

Do all your thoughts, words, and deeds go through the filter of ‘God loved me so much as to deliver me from impending death, therefore I should/shouldn’t…‘?

Today – and every day – work this recording and remembering into your life, and see how it changes you from the inside out, and see how it changes you for the better!

Revelation 16.12 – The Euphrates

Published on by James Travis1 Comment

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.

Today the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and it’s water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings of the east. The river Euphrates was a barrier to the Romans in many ways, seen as a huge obstacle. 1800 miles long and at parts 1 kilometer wide, the Euphrates was a considerable barrier to those wishing to cross and/or conquer those who lived near it. The fact that God dries it up quick as a flash should not really alarm us, should it…think back to Exodus 14.21-22 and Joshua 4.23-24.

Back in Daniel 5 whilst the vessels of the temple were being defiled and as the handwriting appeared on the wall, Darius and his army had diverted the Euphrates just enough to lower the water level just enough to allow them to slip under the river-gates that supposedly made the city of Babylon impregnable. All that to say, the river was a huge obstacle that needed to be crossed, conquered, or even circumvented before progress could be made.

Do we put our own Euphrates between ourselves and others?

Do we claim insurmountable difficulties between ourselves and what God is calling us to do?

Do we, effectively, refuse to trust God’s power to be able to dry up the waters of the Euphrates in front of us?

God has literally dried up massive rivers before to deliver His people, to show His people He is with them, to allow them to cross the obstacles in their paths and to live the life He has called them to live.

He will do this for you, too.

If you are standing on the banks of a Euphrates-sized problem today, or there is one on the horizon, remember, God has done this before, He is doing it now for His people, and, should we humbly ask Him, He will do it again.

Whatever you are going through, it may seem insurmountable, impossible to conquer, impassable, but, to our great God, creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, our problems are nothing He cannot deal with in His sovereign omnipotence.

So don’t stand on the banks of your Euphrates and wonder how you are going to get across, call out to the One who can get you across!