Trust and Esther # 3

Ps 56:11 In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Can (and do ) people hurt each other in many different ways? Yes. But I know that I can trust God to bring me through any situation. We can’t live in fear of what “might” happen. If we do we will miss seeing miss seeing all the blessings God sends our way. Being watchful and being fearful are two different things. Be watchful.

Esther 2:1 After these things, when the wrath of King Xerxes subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.

:2 Then the king’s servants who attended him said; “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king;

:3 and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the women’s quarters under the custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations be given them.

:4 Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This thing pleased the king, and he did so.

:5 In Shushan the citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite.

:6 Kish had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been captured with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.

:7 And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

:8 So it was, when the king’s command and decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered at Shusham the citadel, under the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was taken to the king’s palace, into the care of Hegai the custodian of the women.

:9 Now the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor, so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women.

:10 Esther had not revealed her people or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it.

:11 And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women’s quarters, to learn of Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.

:12 Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes after she had completed twelve months’ preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned; six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women.

:13 Thus prepared, each young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace.

:14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name.

:15 Now when the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her.

:16 So Esther was taken to King Xerxes, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reigh.

:17 The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

:18 Then the king made a great feast the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the generosity of a king.

:19 When virgins were gathered together a second time, Mordecai sat within the king’s gate.

:20 Now Esther had not revealed her family and her people, just as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther obeyed the command of Mordecai as when she was brought up by him.

When the king begins to miss having a queen, even though he had a large harem, he starts missing Vashti. His officials fearing he would take her back, come up with a plan to find a new queen and he agrees.

We aren’t told if she went willingly or not, or how she felt about going.  Mordecai stayed outside the palace walls trying to get news of Esther. He was concerned about her.

Even though there is no mention of God, He is orchestrating all that is happening. Esther becomes queen because of God.

The book of Esther doesn’t explain why God had Esther sleep with the king before marriage even though it goes against God’s directives to remain pure till marriage.

But it was God who gave Esther favor with everyone, including the king.

Esther was orphaned at an early age and Mordecai took her in and raised her.

Being an orphan, we can develop a orphan spirit. If we don’t have godly parents we can develop it also.

I had an earthly mom, but not a spiritual one. My mom was an alcoholic all of my life.

It’s hard to navigate life without guidance.

We can carry around wounds if our mom wasn’t what we hoped she would be.

How do you break the orphan spirit?

God can break that spirit.

1.       How do I go about breaking the spirit?

Realize your mom did the best she knew how to do. She repeated how she was raised. We hold our moms to such a high standard and it’s hard for them to live up to that.

Understand that she had pain and wounds that you knew nothing about. There has to be grace in your relationship with your mom. In her generation they didn’t talk about things that happened. You need to forgive her for the things while you were growing up that weren’t how you would have liked them to have been.

2.       Begin to give what you didn’t get. Become to others what you needed. Stop living in a place of lack. God will become to you what you need. God will help you find the thing you need so you can share it with others. Stop seeing yourself as a victim, and start seeing yourself as a blessing. It will change how you see things.

3.       Change your perspective.  

Stop looking at what you don’t have and look at what you do. In the garden, Adam and Eve had everything they could want. The devil had them focus on the one thing they couldn’t have. The enemy’s tactic is still the same today.

4.       Release your expectations.

We can’t change our childhood. We can’t change how our moms are or were. Let God heal your heart.

5.       Allow God to heal the wound.

Realize you have a wound. Recognize that you are not alone. Others feel exactly like you do. Talk about it with other godly women. Bring the wound into the light. Forgive and release your mom even if she is deceased.

Out of your greatest pain will come your greatest purpose.