There are many of us that feel that there is much that is just not right now. There are many that feel there are unpredictable and not expected powerful forces in place for changes that are not within our Christian beliefs. We know that living life by our internal compass of Christian values is a huge part of who we are. We feel so strongly that we are not and cannot be programmed or directed by others and their secular or greatly distorted value systems. We are constantly seeking contentment with our conservative Christlike values that we live by.

There are many of us that never saw changes possibly coming that could possibly conflict with our values we have held and have lived by most of our lives. You may ask yourself "is fate worth the weight of change? Should we just give up and accept change and go forward”? Well, do not give up! There is way too much at stake! There is a temptation of compromise right now by many people. There are many in our society that are compromising their beliefs and values of right and wrong. Remember that you could spend the rest of your life here and eternal life regretting your decisions! Godly resistance matters! God is always in control for those of us that do right in following Jesus Christ!

There are many reasons for the popularity of the Book of Esther in the Old Testament. It is a very compelling story with clearly defined heroes and villains. It more importantly revels deep and documents the values of "God’s power” to deliver us from the danger and oppression. 

Let us flash back to 486-465 B.C. and the reign of a King named Xerxes. We find Esther residing in Babylon as an orphan taken in by her cousin Mordecai, who served in the Persian ruler’s palace.

King Xerxes became really upset and offended when his then wife Vashti refused to attend with him at his great 180-day feast. The King was then talked into removing her as his queen. Then he put together a kind of ‘beauty pageant” searching for a new queen among the most beautiful virgins in the land to come to his palace.

Esther was one of the beautiful women selected for the competition in the King’s court. The King selected her to become his new queen, but her cousin Mordecai advised her to not reveal that she was Jewish, because all Jews that remained in Persia and did not leave were said to be untrustworthy.

At the time, there was also a man named Haman, who was very close to the King and was considered his ‘right hand man.’ He was very arrogant and demanded that everyone bow down to him.

Everyone did….’except Mordecai’. This fact made Haman really angry and he then went to the King and convinced the King to issue an order to have all the remaining Jews in Persia destroyed!

When Mordecai heard of this, he implored Esther to intervene on behalf of the Jews, her people in secret, or they would all be killed. 

Mordecai then spoke the most famous statement from the Book of Esther, when he told Ester, "If you remain silent at this time, great difficulties may arise for the Jews, and you and your father’s house will perish! Yet, he said, "Who knows whether you have come to this kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther agreed to risk her life for her people. She asked Mordecai to have her people pray and fast for her success and she put her life on the line and went to the King. 

Esther was very special to King Xerxes and he not only held out his scepter to save her life from what she told him, but King Xerxes also said that he would grant anything she asked of him, even to granting half of his kingdom to her. 

That night, the King couldn’t sleep and asked for his history to be read to him. He then ‘happened’ to recall the part about how Mordecai had advised him of a plot that saved his life previously and found out that nothing had been done to reward Mordecai. 

The next morning Haman was waiting to see the King and discussed a plan to eliminate someone the King wanted to honor in Mordecai. It was Haman that was totally surprised at the banquet that evening when the King had listened to Esther’s request that she was really a Jew and she wished the King to spare her people from genocide at the plans of Haman! She also pointed out that the author of the King’s order to exterminate the Jews came from Haman, unbeknown to the King. The King was enraged and left the room, Haman went to Esther’s room to beg for his life, then the King came into her room and accused Haman of trying to assault his wife and he was promptly executed. Mordecai was afterwards given Haman’s place and lands and was elevated to the right hand of the King instead.

King Xerxes issued a new order throughout his kingdom that all who revolted against the Jews would be destroyed and countermanded his previous order of destruction of the Jewish people by Haman. A time of celebration was held by the Jews called "Purim”, and is equal in celebration to this day, as is Hanukkah.

The story of Esther reads like a current day novel throughout its ten short chapters, but is chocked full of spiritual lessons and should be read or re-read by every Christian. It teaches us that "God is always in control "even when we believe we are in the middle of  he worse circumstances and don’t see His presence!

The hand of God is ‘always’ at work in the lives of His people! He used the circumstances in Esther’s life as He uses the decisions and actions of all humans involved in our present circumstances! He will work out His divine plans and purposes all in His time and by His  are over every aspect of our lives!

It is by His Grace we are truly saved…..by His Word we live….and by His Will, we serve all others….!