| 2:01 MIN READ |
Every situation in life comes with choices. We either react or respond to them. Reaction is emotion-driven. Response is thought and principle-driven.
There’s a great story in the Bible about two individuals named Mordecai and Esther. Esther came on the scene of history after the Persian king, Xerxes, deposed his queen in a moment of rage. A plan was put in motion to find a new queen. Esther was chosen to be a part of the beauty pageant that would determine the next Persian queen. She was a young Jewish girl living in a heathen environment. As a part of this process, Esther was expected to prepare to potentially spend the rest of her life with a king who was arrogant, demanding and temperamental.
It’s interesting to read how Esther prepared to meet this man. Look at this part of the story in Esther 2:8b-9 (NIV) “…Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. The girl pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.”
Thrown into very unusual and intimidating circumstances, Esther made a choice. She yielded herself. She became the best student Hegai had. Whatever he suggested, she did.
Although she didn’t realize it at the time, God had a plan for Esther. The Lord knew that one day a man named Haman would hatch a plot to destroy all of the Jews in Persia. God needed someone in place and prepared for that day. Esther’s preparation for that moment depended on how she responded to her situations along the way.
Because Esther responded well and cooperated with the process, she was prepared to shine when presented to the king. Because she chose to respond to her challenging situation, rather than negatively react to it, God’s plan unfolded for her life, and she was used by God to save a nation from annihilation.
Never underestimate the power of the right response!
Pastor Dale
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