Esther 1-10 & Job 1-7 with Pat Bray
The Book of Esther – The God behind the scenes.
Can you imagine living in a time where you are surrounded by constant murder, strife, drinking, frustration, and destruction? This week we explore throughout the book of Esther to find the fingerprints of God in this particular book and in the parched areas of our own lives. I’m sure we are all familiar with the common verse, “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, ESV). It is custom for our Western eyes and hearts to treat this verse like a motivational quote.
Whenever God would call me into unfamiliar spaces and places, I would tell myself, “Pat… you were made for such a time as this”. I hoped that this verse could sooth my insecurities and fears, when I really needed to say, “God I don’t know why I’m here and I don’t know what I’m doing”. There are moments where you need to speak the truth of scripture over others and yourself. But, I’ve also found holy moments in the midst of doubting.
The book of Esther is not a book of romance. You have Israel being sent from their land due to the Babylonian exile. Haman is a wild man who lives with lots of anger by trying to kill Mordecai. A death wish is placed on all Jews. Life is really not the greatest, to say the least. The book of Esther is one of the only books that doesn’t mention the name of God. This left me wondering, “How can a book of the Bible not include the name of God?” Well, I slowly learned that just because God’s name isn’t present, doesn’t mean that God isn’t present. I was reminded that God does not just show up through His word, but God communicates to us through his actions. This made me wonder how close God probably felt to Israel in moments where God was silent. Isn’t it hard to make sense of a situation when it feels like God isn’t present? I believe that Esther is relevant because there are many moments in my life where I assumed God’s silence with the absence of God. Passages like this should teach us how to trust and remain faithful in a faithless society, even when God isn’t seen or situations aren’t fixed. We may not have the ability to motivate ourselves out of doubt. But, we do have the ability to hope that God is working on the scene and behind the scenes of our life.
Reflection Questions:
1) What does it feel like when God isn’t on the scene?
2) Has there been a moment where you wanted God to show up on the scene and not remain behind the scene? How did you respond?
The Book of Job – “Enter, Leave, and Prepare”
Similar to the book of Esther, Job has a common theme. But overall, Job focuses on a dialogue about suffering between God and a man named Job. This honest and vulnerable dialogue between God and man is joined together with interesting creatures and friends of “the righteous sufferer.”
The book of Job is often avoided because of how relatable it is to our current context. I found myself wanting to avoid Job because I simply wanted to avoid suffering. While reflecting on Job 1-7, I couldn’t help but think about a common quote that my coach would usually say when it came to suffering a loss.. He would say, “Guys… There are three things that are known to be true in life. You are either entering a storm, leaving a storm, or preparing to enter another storm”. Whenever I encounter suffering, I typically forget that suffering has a deadline. We aren’t sure of that deadline, but we do know The One who will be coming to wipe every tear. The One who will no longer allow death, mourning, and pain to have the final word (Rev. 21:4).
As a kid, I grew up watching Storm Chasers and was inspired to be like them one day. The older I got, the more I realized how crazy that dream was. Everyone on the show loved chasing storms, but nobody liked the feeling of being chased by a storm. My friend, nobody goes looking for bad things to happen, yet they happen. As much as we pray, dance, and worship the Lord with every part of our being, there will be a moment when suffering feels too much to bear. When our health, money, family, and reputations are put on the line we are left feeling hopeless. I’m not going to act like I know your situation or that things will get better tomorrow. But, I want to encourage you to embrace the suffering as an opportunity to draw closer and closer to your Creator. While reading Job, I am left with more questions than answers (and that’s okay). I am reminded to rely on God’s faithfulness and the community that He has given me.I believe that the church has a responsibility to walk with each other as we enter into storms, as we leave storms, or prepare for storms.
So as we follow and believe in the Suffering Servant, also remember that suffering is part of our yes to God. We don’t suffer in vain, but we believe that every ounce will be used towards purpose. And if you don’t feel that right now, that’s okay. Even when Job didn’t see God’s love and faithfulness in devastation, he continued to converse with Him. My friend, know that you too can dialogue with God as Job does.
Reflection Questions:
1) What does it feel like when bad things are happening to you?
2) Can you recall a time where you experienced suffering while also experiencing God?