Wednesday, June 4, 2014

If Only. . .

Do you have certain things you like to read over and over again? I do. I am rereading the story of Esther. Awesome book of the Bible. If you are not familiar with it here is the short version.

There was this king who got rid of his queen because she wouldn't parade around in front of a group of drunk men with only her crown on. Then he had the kingdom send all the beautiful young girls to the palace to find a new queen. Enter Esther. She has a year of preparation! {now that is a lot of pampering} of course she is selected or the name of the book would be someone else. All is well in the kingdom until {duh duh da enter the villain} Haman enters the picture.

Now Haman is one of those guys whose cup is half empty, maybe even three quarters empty. The king thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread and that isn't enough for him because of this ONE guy named Mordecai who is a Jew and won't bow down to him.{God is the  only one to bow before}Now the rest of the kingdom bows before him but one man refuses. {the plot thickens}He convinces the king that all the Jews are a threat and that they should be wiped of the planet and the king who isn't paying much attention say ok do what you think is best. The date is set.

Haman is called to a banquet with the king and queen, just him, and they also want his presence the next day for another banquet! Now, he is so elated until he spies Mordecai, who still won't bow, on his way home to tell his wife about his good fortune. He moans to his wife all is terrific IF ONLY that guy Mordecai wasn't around.

I will let you read the rest for your self, it is a spell binder. Any way I was thinking about how sometimes we can be like Haman. We look in the mirror and say, IF ONLY I didn't have that . . . or we look at our lives and say IF ONLY  I was more like . . . Perhaps we look at our children and groan IF ONLY  they would . . .  { and you thought you would never identify with the villain}

If you have ever fallen into the trap of the IF ONLYS you are looking in the wrong direction. We need to look to Jesus and not ourselves. God is in charge. He created us to look exactly like we do. We are to compare ourselves to no one else. He loves you just the way you are. He adores you for that matter. Don't get caught up in thinking IF ONLY but praise God you are the ONLY one like you.

 

4 comments:

  1. "If only's" are right up there along then "what if's!" Comparisons are a bummer and second guessing God isn't trust! Thanks for your encouragement. I love Esther - a rock star of courage and faith.

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  2. Enjoyed your post today! Found you through Holley's link up. So nice to meet you!

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  3. Esther is one of my favorites! Alister Begg with Truth for Life ministries has an excellent sermon series on this book, if you're interested. And you're right, if onlys, are a dangerous game to play! Instead of comparing ourselves to others, we should be thankful for the eternal life we have in Jesus Christ! Have a blessed week!

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  4. Thank you so much for linking up with Coffee for Your Heart! I’m so grateful for your words. XO

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