Esther

So I got into watching movies yesterday and decided to watch "One night with the King".  Wow, God is on a roll with me this week. It is about Esther.  Outside of Mary, she's probably one of the best named women of the Bible, but to be honest, I really didn't know anything about her other than she was a queen and obviously did something great in God's name (Otherwise, why would we hear of her so much in the bible?).  So I got to watching it and was just sucked in. It's an amazing story of how once again, God will take someone who seems so insignificant and do great things through them.  This was a trailer to give you an idea...

I guess I got sucked in, because Esther was this orphan, who was well educated, and a dreamer.  She dreamed of Jerusalem, but just as she got permission to go, the King was looking for a queen and sent his guards to round up young women from the land. Esther was one of the girls taken. She hid her faith from everyone so as not to be killed, but when the kingdom decides to kill all the Jews. She had to come forth and ended up saving the Jews from genocide.  She was terrified of being killed. Wouldn't we all be, but this young woman sought out God and gathered the courage to stand against a Kingdom!  One person can make all the difference.

OK, so I have to admit, I still have the little girl side of me, that totally fell for the whole Cinderella side of the story. I mean think about it. It is a rags to riches story in a way. Not to mention a Jewish girl who's race had been exiled to Persia, became the queen of the Kingdom. Then there's the side of me who is a bit of a tomboy who longs to be strong and courageous like Joshua. She pushed all fears aside and offered her life for the lives of her people! I can't imagine more courage than that!

I have to love my buddy Micheal, he sent me this text yesterday afternoon right after I watched this movie.

"The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember...Noah was a drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stuttering problem, Gideon was afraid, Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah and timothy were too young, David had an affair and was a murderer, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Naomi was a widow, Job went bankrupt, John the Baptist ate bugs, Peter denied Christ, The disciples fell asleep during prayer, Martha worried about everything, the Samaritan woman was divorced more than once, Zaccheus was too small, Paul was too religious, Timothy had an ulcer...AND LAZARUS WAS DEAD!!!!"

So the question today is not "Will God use me?" It's "How do I prepare for God to use me." Esther was in a sticky situation to say the least, but she kept her heart open to God, kept her faith, and acted when God commanded her to do so.