{"id":507,"date":"2018-06-21T15:20:25","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T13:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mylampblog.com\/?p=507"},"modified":"2020-09-18T12:09:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T10:09:59","slug":"what-we-can-learn-from-esther","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/what-we-can-learn-from-esther\/","title":{"rendered":"What we can learn from Esther"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Reading the story of Esther amazes me every time. It is so different than other stories in the Bible and yet it\u2019s about a woman who truly has her heart in the right place. If you don\u2019t know who Esther is, here\u2019s a short intro: King Xerxes of Persia was looking for a new queen. Beautiful young women all over Persia were brought into his royal palace. Before they were presented to the king, each of those young ladies was given one year of beauty treatments (how amazing is this last point, lol). After twelve months, the women were presented to King Xerxes, who chose Esther to be his queen.<\/p>\n<p>At this point,I don\u2019t want to go deeper into Jew Esther\u2019s story. If you want to know more about her life\u2019s context, read the book of Esther in the Bible. In this post,I want to focus on what we can learn from her life and character for our own life challenges.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Listening to wise counsel.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0After Esther\u2019s parents died, her relative Mordecai adopted and raised her (Esther 2,7). As concluded from the book of Esther, she was very obedient to her foster father:<\/p>\n<p><em>Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family backgroundbecause Mordecai had directed her not to do so. &#8211; Esther 2,10<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Many times, we read that Esther obeyed Mordecai\u2019s instructions. Throughout the whole book,Mordecai seems like a wise man. He faced many adversities in life, which he turned into opportunities while always trusting God. Obeying and listening to Mordecai was a good ideasince the story finishes well. Who are you listening to in your life? I think it\u2019s so important to be aware of who we are taking advice from. Is it from someone you follow on Youtube or Instagram? Or is it from a person who stands strong in her\/his faith walk?<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Security in God.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s so easy to lean on finances, possessions, or another person for safety. Even a queen can\u2019t rely on the things she has got\u2014possessions, servants, a royal palace to livein, etc.<\/p>\n<p><em>Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: \u201cDon\u2019t you think for a moment that because you\u2019re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed.\u201d &#8211; Esther 4,13<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In Esther\u2019scase,we see that God\u2019s the only source of security. It\u2019s so easy to believe the lie that we are set when we have enough money. If you\u2019d only earn more, you wouldn\u2019t worry about half of the things that could happen ortake safetyin your health, your spouse or any other person.<\/p>\n<p>There are so many lies about what could give us the security and stability we are longing for. But Esther\u2019s story shows us that we can only be safe in God. Everything can be taken away from us in the twinkle of an eye. And what are we left with? God is always here and will always be with you. He\u2019s the only thing in life that\u2019s truly lasting.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>With great power comes great responsibility<\/u><\/strong>. We read about Esther that she was very beautiful. She became a queen, living in a royal palace. Many servants were waiting for her orders not to mention the delicious food, clothes, andadmiration from other people. Being a queen comes with a lot of privileges, but also with responsibilities. Jesus states that clearly in the New Testament:<\/p>\n<p><em>From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has entrusted with much, much more will be asked. &#8211; Luke 12,48b<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Where God places you, there\u2019s a task for you to do. Esther wasn\u2019t living in a palace for her own pleasure. No, God had a purpose in mind. Even Mordecai recognized this:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIf you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if <strong>perhaps you were made queenfor such a time as this<\/strong>?\u201d &#8211; Esther 4,14<\/em><\/p>\n<p>With the position of being queen came challenges that would benefit her people. Although she herself was greatly gifted, God also used her in that position to bless others.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>A woman of action.<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0Have you ever wondered how little she speaks in the book? Of course,that\u2019s not a real indication of if she actually did talk a lot or not. But it shows us that Esther was a woman of action and courage. She did what needed to be done, as she didn\u2019t only look out for herself but for God\u2019s people as well.<\/p>\n<p>Read Esther\u2019s reply to Mordecai:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0\u201cGo and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.\u201d &#8211; Esther 4,16<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the face of her own death and the death of her people, she took the risk. What a huge responsibility placed upon her shoulders! I like how she approaches this challenging task. She invites other people to fast with her, probably to find favor in God\u2019s eyes before approaching the king.<\/p>\n<p>Today, we are called to be a royal priesthood, chosen by God (1. Peter 2,9). God placed us intohis kingdom and gave us a new identity. Like Esther,we are positioned by God to make a difference where we are right now and to build his kingdom. Will you take your place and do what God assigned you to do?<\/p>\n<p>\u2b50\ufe0f Follow me on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mylampblog\/\">Instagram<\/a> for daily encouragement.<\/p>\n<p>\u2b50\ufe0f Do you need more trust in God? Get my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.etsy.com\/listing\/713480530\/a-30-day-journey-of-trusting-god-and?ref=shop_home_active_1\">30-day devotional about trusting God and letting go<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2b50\ufe0f You want some fresh input for your Bible study? Get my eguide with my best tips on spending time with God by subscribing to my newsletter \ud83d\udc47\ud83c\udffb<\/p>\n<strong>Share This:<\/strong><br><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-32 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Follow us on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mylampblog\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:32px;height:32px;margin:0;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:20px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Follow us on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-follow\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" style=\"display: inline;width:32px;height:32px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/clearslate\/64x64\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-32 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-pinterest nolightbox\" data-provider=\"pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Our board on Pinterest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/mylampblog\/\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:32px;height:32px;margin:0;margin-bottom:20px;margin-right:20px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"pinterest\" title=\"Our board on Pinterest\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-follow\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" style=\"display: inline;width:32px;height:32px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/clearslate\/64x64\/pinterest.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-32 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-instagram nolightbox\" data-provider=\"instagram\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Check out our instagram feed\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mylampblog\/\" style=\"font-size: 0px;width:32px;height:32px;margin:0;margin-bottom:20px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"instagram\" title=\"Check out our instagram feed\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-follow\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" style=\"display: inline;width:32px;height:32px;margin: 0;padding: 0;border: none;box-shadow: none\" src=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/addons\/extra-icons\/image\/social\/clearslate\/64x64\/instagram.png\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reading the story of Esther amazes me every time. It is so different than other stories in the Bible and yet it\u2019s about a woman who truly has her heart in the right place. If you don\u2019t know who Esther is, here\u2019s a short intro: King Xerxes of Persia was looking for a new queen. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.0","language":"de","enabled_languages":["en","es","de"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"de":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/What-we-can-learn-from-Esther-.jpg",3174,2384,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/What-we-can-learn-from-Esther--150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/What-we-can-learn-from-Esther--300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/What-we-can-learn-from-Esther--768x577.jpg",580,436,true],"large":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/What-we-can-learn-from-Esther--1024x769.jpg",580,436,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/What-we-can-learn-from-Esther-.jpg",1536,1154,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/What-we-can-learn-from-Esther-.jpg",2048,1538,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/What-we-can-learn-from-Esther--100x75.jpg",100,75,true],"twentytwenty-fullscreen":["https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/What-we-can-learn-from-Esther-.jpg",1980,1487,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"<p>Reading the story of Esther amazes me every time. It is so different than other stories in the Bible and yet it\u2019s about a woman who truly has her heart in the right place. If you don\u2019t know who Esther is, here\u2019s a short intro: King Xerxes of Persia was looking for a new queen. Beautiful young women all over Persia were brought into his royal palace. Before they were presented to the king, each of those young ladies was given one year of beauty treatments (how amazing is this last point, lol). After twelve months, the women were presented&hellip;<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"<a href=\"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Madeleine","url":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/author\/mylampbloggmail-com\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":690,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507\/revisions\/690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mylampblog.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}