Happy Sunday and welcome to Week 2 of Blogging Through the Bible! We will be finishing the book of Esther and heading into 1 Peter this week.
Here's our reading plan for this week starting 9/7/14 from Courtney Joseph at Women Living Well, home of Good Morning Girls. Feel free to go to her blog with this link so you can print off this image and place it in your Bible so you'll have it right where you need it. *smile*
Courtney also has a printable for the reading plan for the whole month of September and the rest of the eWorkbooks for this month that you can download to print! Just use the link above. While there, please be sure to leave her a quick comment that Laurie of Grace-Filled-Moments sent you there to get your printables and be sure to say thank you! :)
Esther Chapter 7
Wow, what a turn of events we see here in chapter 7 of Esther! Here's my S.O.A.P for this chapter.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Esther 7
Scripture: Esther 7:1-4 So the king and
Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day,
the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given
you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”
3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your
Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare
my people—this is my request. 4 For I and my people have been
sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as
male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would
justify disturbing the king.”
Observations: Esther’s patience and God’s timing
stands out to me in verses 1-2. We already know that she is a woman of patience
because of the other events we have witnessed in her life so far…a year of
preparations before being selected as Queen, fasting for three days before
approaching the King without his request, and now we see her into the second
day of a banquet and the third time of being asked of her petition and request by
the King. Esther is waiting for just the right time to make her petition for
her life and her request for the life of her people. This is God’s providence
once again. Had she tried to ask the day before, the King would not have been
kept awake by God that night so that he could read in the chronicles about
Mordecai uncovering the plot to harm the King.
In verses 3-4 we see a woman whose emotions
are being controlled by God. She has spent time fasting and is moving in the strength
and the power of God in a very scary and uncertain situation. Her very life is
at risk and the lives of her people. She’s not crying uncontrollably or yelling
or demanding her way, nor does she attack her accuser. She is very respectful
and humble in her approach to the King with her petition and request.
Application: Do I show the fruit of
patience in my life? How do I approach the difficulties of my life,
difficulties with other people, or even with difficulties with my husband?
In the difficulties of this life, difficulties
with other people or with my husband, I should:
- Pray and fast to God.
- Surrender my emotions to God.
- Walk in His strength and power.
- Approach in an attitude of humbleness.
- Approach in an attitude of respect.
- Be specific in my request.
Satan is our enemy and accuser. We have already won the
victory against him because of the blood of Jesus that was shed for the
remission of our sins. We now stand before God covered, forgiven, and protected
from the hand of the enemy.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for helping me with the
difficulties of this life. Thank You
for Your Word that shows me how I need to handle these situations. I pray that
I would always remember to come to You first for wisdom, for strength, and for
power. I know I have certainly made a mess of things in the past when I’ve
tried to handle things in my own way. Forgive me, Father, and help me to learn
from my mistakes and to walk in the truth that You have revealed to me today.
Thank You, Jesus, for Your precious blood that has covered my sins and has
defeated Satan. Help me to walk in the victory that is mine as a child of God.
In the powerful name of Jesus I pray. Amen!
Now it's your turn to share! Please leave your S.O.A.P./comments for chapter 7 of Esther in the comments section below. I'll see you here again on Wednesday!
Walking in His Grace,
Laurie
This sounds like a fascinating project. I will have to learn more. thanks for sharing. :) I would love to have more information on this. I could join up at the beginning of the year. 2015
ReplyDeleteMary-andering Creatively
Welcome, Mary! I would love for you to join me on this journey! I'll be posting here every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. Please jump in whenever you are ready. See the link above in my post for the materials you can download from Good Morning Girls.
DeleteBlessings,
Laurie