READING: Esther 6-10
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: God delivered His people . . . again . . . In the book of Esther. He protected them from Haman’s decree, instead bringing judgment on Haman himself. Mordecai and Esther later led the people to a time of rejoicing, feasting, sending gifts, and taking care of the poor — known as Purim, a celebration of God’s deliverance (Esther 9:20-26).
They were to celebrate during the month of Adar because:
Esther 9:22 That was the month when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday.
Turning sorrow into rejoicing and mourning into a holiday — that’s just what God does. It’s not that He allows us to avoid sorrows and mourning; it’s that He reverses them (a common theme in Esther).
Think about the truth of God’s reversing grace in our lives. He has a way of turning:
- worry into peace, fear into courage, and struggle into strength
- grief into joy, anger into forgiveness, and hatred into love
- separation into reconciliation, brokenness into restoration, and endings into new beginnings
- weakness into power, defeat into victory, and loneliness into comfort
- above all, rebellion into relationship, and death into life.
He’s such a good, gracious, and powerful God that we need not live in defeat. We need not be consumed with worry or overcome with loss. God can turn our pain into celebration.
PRAYER: “Father, remind me that You’re a miracle working God who can turn whatever You wish. Whatever I may face today, help me to rejoice.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezra 7-10
