How God works

Every little girl loves a Cinderella story. We wrestle with this though don't we? As much as we want to believe that we are princesses to God, chosen by him to be in the service of a great King, life gets in the way doesn't it? It's difficult to feel like a princess doing laundry, cleaning bathrooms, standing in long check-out lines, not being able to find a parking space, and cleaning up after everyone else in the house. Sometimes those situations cause us to act very un-princess like as well. Then we REALLY don't feel like princesses. We feel worse. Unworthy to even strive for it. That magic wands, princes and fairy-godmothers are reserved for people much more worthy than us. Sometimes, I wager...we feel like the ugly step-sister. (Maybe the wicked step-mother?)

Thankfully, God is more than a fairy godmother. And, while Esther's story may seem far removed from the day to day struggles we have with laundry, dishes and lines it really isn't. We've already established that the name "God" is never actually mentioned in the book. Nor do we see Him directly speak to anyone. We do, however, see him work. Every person I've talked to, Christian or not, wrestles with how God works in the world - and how we fit into that. We want to be a part of the story, we want to do great things for Him, but we struggle when we still find ourselves stuck mopping the perpetual floor.

God created the world. In creating it, he set up a "natural order" of things. He determined the way the stars are aligned, how our bodies work, what we look like, etc. He also gave each of us a conscience and His word to help us know His expectations of us. We see God using this in the book of Esther. He is the one who gave Esther her beauty after all. Moreover, she made plans based on the law of God AND used the wisdom she had about the king from his advisors and what she knew of her own dealings with him. She planned and perfectly executed the way she delivered the news to King Xerxes about her nationality and Haman's evil plot. God still works in those same ways in our lives. There is a natural order- and laws God has set for us to honor and obey. We can make plans based on what we know God commands for us and the knowledge he gives us about the world and how it works. Or, we can choose to break God's laws and try to "rewrite" the natural order of things. Play God, so to speak. Be a "Haman" or "evil stepmother." Based on this story, I'm going to suggest that that is not the best option.

Because God created the world, and the natural order of things, He gets the privilege of breaking it sometimes. We call this a miracle. God allowed Esther to speak to the King- and be spared. The timing of King Xerxes being unable to sleep and learning about how Mordecai had saved his life was also miraculous to me. God is certainly in control. This part of the story really was in no ones hands but God's alone. The jews, Esther, Mordecai, all fasted and prayed. We can pray. Just like Jaybrena said in a previous post, who knows what we have missed out on because we simply didn't ask? God is still in the business of miracles. The key, is realizing that when we pray for miracles, the outcome is still in God's hands. He has knowledge and perspective that we don't, and we can't expect God to be our personal "genie in a bottle."

Finally, we see what is called Providence. This is somewhere between the natural order and miracles. Think of it sort of as the natural order working miraculously. God sort of hands us a situation and says- "ok, now, what are you going to do with it?" An example is when Mordecai overhears the plot to assassinate the king. He could have ignored it, but he didn't. God put Mordecai in that situation on purpose, just like he put Esther in the place of the queen. Providence. Sort of a miracle of positioning. We can trust that God is in control even when the circumstances may not seem like He is. Or, we can assume that God doesn't care, doesn't answer prayers, and live as though there is nothing but the natural order. Let me tell you- if you live that way you are missing out. Seriously. Not just in this lifetime, but for eternity. Who would have guessed that Haman's evil plot to destroy an entire nationality of people would have been able to be used to bring God glory? The jews were able to defeat their enemies! "And, many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them." It wasn't the people they were afraid of...it was the God behind the people. Again, God showing himself to the world!

God still works in these same ways. What is our part? We plan and prepare and execute those plans to the best of our ability. We pray for miracles. We trust and obey. And, we celebrate God's work in our lives. Sounds easy enough right?

It's easy to forget, in a Cinderella story like this, that the main characters didn't see the happy ending while they were living it out. They didn't know the end...and it wasn't written for them just a few pages away. Mordecai and Esther had some dark days, I'm sure. Days where they couldn't believe they were doing something as mundane as eating a meal or getting dressed. The end of the story IS written for us. It ends with the triumph of a King...a new kingdom...a great feast and some celebrating like we have never seen before. And ladies, in that kingdom, we are all princesses to a far better King than Xerxes or even Prince Charming. The question to ask yourself is, who are you serving NOW, while you do the dishes, wait in line, or clean the bathroom??

But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33