When Hope is Lost, Trust in God

Today marks the last day of the eight week study of Esther! Wow! What an amazing eight weeks! I truly have taken away so much from the interwoven themes throughout the entire book of Esther.

Last fridays post, The Current, discussed a time where I was hopeless and completely alone. This is probably along the lines of how the Jewish people felt at the end of Esther. 

The day was set for their enemy to attack a destroy and plunder without any means to protect themselves. They were crying out in mourning. 

And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Esther 4:3

I cannot even fathom the depth of hopelessness and fear that they may have felt for their lives. I mean imagine being in their position, and someone told you that in one month someone is going to break into your house, steal your most precious items, destroy the rest and kill you and your family as you stood their unable to defend yourself.

Horror and hopelessness to the Nth degree. 

But you know the difference between me in my hopelessness 6 years ago and the Jews in their hopelessness? 

They fasted, they prayed. They trusted in God. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 

When we trust in God and his plan, and we stay faithful by praying, God will fill us with so much joy and peace. So much joy and peace that we will be able to look at our situation with hope because we know our God is good all of the time and he will use our situation for his good. 

God is faithful, God is loving, God is just. God is trustworthy. 

When we place our trust in God, we will over flow with an abundance of peace and joy, which are the components of Hope. 

The Jews could have decided to wallow and loose all hope for their lives, but instead they trusted God and were able to defend and defeat their enemies. 

Esther is so much more than a girl going from being an orphan to a Queen. Esther is about the continued reliance the Jews had on God and how we need to give everything to him so that we may have the unbreakable hope that everything will work out for God's good. 

Though just 10 chapters, there was an abundance of lessons that we can apply to our own lives. 

I hope that you have taken as much away from Esther as I have. If you missed a post, feel free to go back and catch up! 

Esther Study:
Chapter 1 - God is Working Even When You Can't See It
Chapter 2 - The Lesson In Waiting
Chapter 3 - Your Tongue Can Be A Snare to Your Soul
Chapter 4- For Such A Time As This
Chapter 5- Timing Is Everything
Chapter 6- A Lesson In Being Humble
Chapter 7- The Current
Chapter 8-10- When Hope is Lost, Trust In God

photo credit: Lυвαιв via photopin cc