Have you ever been in a situation and wondered why you are there? What got you to this place? Maybe you've been or are in a trial and you are wondering how God could ever use this? How could He ever turn this around? Will you see the goodness of God positioned at the end of all of it?
I was reading Esther and was thrown for a loop this morning. There is a verse where it says she "was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Hegai." Esther 2:8 I have NEVER thought about this in any other way, other than, she willingly went, maybe with some hesitation and anxiousness, but that she packed her bag, handed it to the kind eunuch and off she went to live in a palace and be given royal beauty treatments. Literally. Thinking all this time, "what a life!" But do you know the word taken in that verse means she was carried off by force, snatched, captured, seized. WHAT?!?!?! And then I thought about what that must have felt like. The fear, resentment, the wondering how God was going to use this, what was going to be the outcome, would I ever see my family again, all. the. things. Isn't funny though, God wasn't caught off guard by this. He knew this was going to happen. And He did use it. As I have been reading the Bible the past year, I changed my methods. I stopped trying to constantly see how this applied to me and started paying careful attention to how the story of God is woven through all these different stories. Yes, she was carried away, taken against her will, and God used the wretchedness of that for a purpose. He gave Esther natural charm and beauty so that she would be able to win the favor of important people in her new position which would come to serve her later in a positive way. God's love for you is unfailing! He will redeem! His strength will be your guide. He is compassionate. He is gracious. He is slow to anger. Abounding in love. He does not withhold and He will right all the wrongs. He is a God who keeps His covenant to those who love Him. He is THE faithful God. He has been and will continue to be good to you.
