STORY
"... it is God's story - and it becomes ours as he 'writes' us into it." - Fee and Stuart (page 11)
Here are a few quotes by Max Lucado that seemed to tie into our study:
"This quest is God's story. And we are a part of it!"
"Your story indwells God's."
"Above and around us God directs a grander saga, written by his hand, orchestrated by his will, unveiled according to his calendar. And you are a part of it."
"... no life is free of troubles, regardless of religion, race, or nation." "When we trust our lives to the unseen but ever-present God, He will write our lives into His story and every last one of them will turn out to be a great read. With a grand ending." "And not just in spite of those catastrophes. Often because of them." - (page 14)
WORD and HOPE
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. - Romans 15:4 (NKJV)
His Word gives us hope.
I had someone write to me recently using the words "hope will be restored".
His Word can give new hope.
His Word can give renewed hope.
From page 8:
Why study the Book of Esther?
It offers tremendous hope.
Those are a couple of things I got out of week 1 day 1 of our study. I would love to hear your thoughts, anything that stood out to you, and/or what you got out of week 1 day 1. Feel free to comment below! (If you are reading this in your email, you can click HERE and it will take you to this post on the seek Him blog site where you will be able to leave a comment.)
Thanks!
Cari
To answer the question on page 13.. Romans 15:4
ReplyDelete.. That everything that was written was written for our use, to learn.. to learn patience, and endurance, so that we hold onto and cherish hope.
I hope to see Esther in a new way, to learn valuable truths and to help me in my life and to use it to teach others.
No matter what is going on in our lives God IS IN control. We need to trust Him with our lives and let Him work out all things for good.
"Indeed, so all encompassing is God's attention to events within creation that nothing ... happens by chance."
What I learned from a study last night is that Satan likes to distract us (persecute us) with all the stress we face, and life distractions. We need to look at those things in our lives that cause us stress and realize that Satan is trying to draw us away from God. Esther is a beautiful example of how to live when you are thrown into a place that you do not want to be, that you would never had chosen yourself.
You can stand strong in God, with the full armor of God on and do what is right.
Because why??
No matter what is going on in our lives God IS IN control. We need to trust Him with our lives and let Him work out all things for good.
Do we trust Him??
I hope that if my trust is weak that it will be strengthened during this study.
Brenda
I like what you said, Brenda:
Delete"Esther is a beautiful example of how to live when you are thrown into a place that you do not want to be, that you would never had chosen yourself."
In life, there are definitely circumstances and/or places in our lives we wouldn't have chosen ourselves.
I was reminded of a sermon I listened to by Pastor Josh Turner. He said:
"... we would choose the path of least resistance. We would choose the easiest path.
But, the problem is, is if you chose your way and your path, by the time you got to the destination, you wouldn't be who God had called you to be, because you would've trusted in your ways and and not God's ways.
... we need to go through some trials in our life to draw us closer to Him, so that we can learn to trust, that we can learn to rely, and that we can learn to lean on Him.
... as we walk on this earth, as we walk through trials, as we walk though hard times, as we walk through the good times... ... God is using every instance, every situation, everything that you go through in your life, to shape and mold you to be more like His Son, Jesus Christ."
Cari
Amen Cari! And it's true Brenda God IS in control! Even when it doesn't seem like He is! I'm sorry for my silence, I finally had a chance to sit down with my laptop. I'm thoroughly enjoying this study, and learning so much! In the section on page 14 that Cari addressed it spoke to me in the last 4 sentences. Through a trial we have been going through for months now, I've been saying, "we just have to wait and see" I like how it says, "Don't just wait and see, LIVE and SEE!" I actually have been still living, still participating and still giving my all even though at times it all seems futile, because deep down inside I have hope! I have hope that God is going to make something beautiful out of this mess and that in each person involved, life changes for His glory alone will take place. This just spoke to my heart and affirmed that I(we) are doing the right thing by enduring through it, instead of fleeing from it. God is ultimately in control! ~Sandra
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Sandra. I love that you are still giving your all, living life, and continuing to have hope through that trial in your life. I will say a prayer for you. Glad you're in the study with us!
DeleteCari