Wednesday, April 12, 2017

For Such A Time As THis

4/12/17

 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

Dear Congregation,

            I will admit that when I come to the Book of Esther in my regular Bible reading, I am always tempted to skim through it really fast or perhaps even skip portions of it. Not because it is boring or because it is irrelevant, but because it is a story that I remember well. Being an account in history and not one that ever mentions the name of God, I foolishly deceive myself into disinterest.

            However, this week I took my time with it and absorbed it in a way I have not done for some years. I was struck once again with the truth of God’s sovereignty over all events and actions for His own glory. God is never mentioned as I have already stated, but everything happens at just the right time. Vashti refuses the king at just the right time. Mordecai aids the king at just the right time. Mordecai’s reward is overlooked by the king until just the right time. The king cannot sleep at just the right time. Haman is discovered at just the right time. Esther acts at just the right time. There is no coincidence here. This account does not have to mention God for him to be seen. Secular history does not have to mention God for his hand to be seen and His actions noted. The non believer even recognizes the eerie way that events very often come together for good or evil. In suppression of the truth, a non believer may make up something like karma, or luck, or the stars, or the universe. But Esther shows that all through History God’s covenant is unbreakable and His plan for all history will not be thwarted by mere humanity. If Esther did not fulfill God’s will, deliverance would come from someplace else. God wins.

            As we head into Resurrection Sunday, lets remember all the events that led up to that point. It started in the Garden of Eden and was foretold through millennia until the Lord Jesus was born at just the right time and died and rose again at just the right time. You have been saved at just the right time, live in just the right time in history for God to use you best. May we continue to live with assurance that God will move history to bring all His future promises to fulfillment. Christ in you for such a time as this and your salvation for such a time as this.
In Christ,
Pastor Basile