“Waiting on God!”

“And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” (Esther 4:14 ESV)

Our story of how God protected His chosen people from destruction throughout the Persian empire continues. Remember that Queen Esther’s uncle Mordecai had every confidence that the God of the Universe was a promise keeper. Mordecai knew the unconditional covenant that God had made with their ancestor, Abraham, would be fulfilled.  Mordecai knew that God was going to bless “all the nations of the world” through Abraham’s descendants by providing the promised Messiah, Jesus.

However, Mordecai also knew that God was giving his niece, Queen Esther, the privilege to participate in God’s blessing and protection of all the Jews. When Queen Esther was confronted by her uncle in Chapter 3 to be part of God’s blessings, she immediately requested that all the faithful Jews in the city pray and fast with her for three days, seeking God’s wisdom and protection.

What an excellent example for all of us. Whenever we are confronted with a frightening situation, something we don’t know how to handle, we need to turn to God in prayer and seek godly friends to pray for wisdom and guidance for us. One of the blessings I have is that I have over 45 years of experience seeing our God guiding me and my family. I’ve seen His hand in providing for us, protecting us from the attacks of the evil one. I have the privilege of looking back and seeing just how faithful our God is. 

How about you? The next time you need God's intervention in a situation, why not look back over your life and your walk with Him and recount His faithfulness? It will help you build your confidence in knowing that God is indeed able to do all that He has promised.

 Chapter 5 shows how Queen Esther depended on God and His timing to help resolve the King’s Edict concerning the murder of all the Jews in his kingdom. What always amazes me about God’s solutions to our problems is the realization that He has been working on the issues we face today for years.

Just think about it, Esther just happened to be born in the Persian Empire at just the right time (some 18 or so years) before the King of Persia was searching for a new Queen. God had put Esther in the right place at just the right time to influence the King to save her people. Psalm 121:4 tells us, “Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” 

It also tells us in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 

You see, when we are in “God’s waiting” room, we can be sure of one thing: our God is not sleeping on the job. He is busy putting the right people in the right places at the right time.  Our God is busy, many times for decades, making sure that just the correct set of circumstances occur at just the right time so that, as Rom. 8:28 states, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” 

I’m sure you’ve been told before to notice that Scripture does not say “all things are good”; anyone who has lived more than a decade in this world knows that. But Scripture does say that God works all things for our good. God has been working on this particular problem for many decades. If we believe that our God is a promise keeper, then we can wait on Him to provide just right answer to our problem. Just the way Queen Ester did. She prayed, met with the appropriate people, and showed the King that he should not allow Haman to execute his evil plan. God was and is in control, not the evil one and his representatives in this world. We can and, quite frankly, must trust our God.

 As chapter seven draws to a close, we find that circumstances have really changed from Haman’s plot to murder all the Jews in Chapter 4. God’s people, trusting in God’s promises and waiting on God’s timing, know that God’s solution always works out for God’s glory.

Once again, God has kept His promise, demonstrating that He is trustworthy and faithful.

My friend, no matter what you are going through, you can trust God and His timing for His solution. He has given us so many examples in Scripture that prove He keeps His promises. So, while you are waiting on God’s solution, pray, trust, and be confident that our God is not sleeping on the Job. God is busy putting just the right people, circumstances, and timing in place so that you can receive His blessings.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"