Esther-like greatness

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. |Job 23:10

I wanted to share 1 of my biggest takeaways from this summer after studying out Esther!! As I studied out this woman who embodies so much of who I want to be I realized that ~We often want Esther-like greatness without Esther-like circumstances. We want Esther-like impact without Esther-like trials. We want Esther-like qualities without the necessary Esther-like processes of refinement~

Joseph was a man of great power. David became king. Esther was a heroine. Because we have the whole story, it’s easy to minimize the many years of suffering, confusion, & despair that came before the blessings. It is easy to forget the painful beginnings that each had to endure prior to the rewarding ending. I think of the first half of Joseph’s life spent in slavery & prison, the years David spent fleeing a man seeking his murder, the potential genocide of Esther’s people at the hands of her own husband…

What if Joseph allowed himself to lose faith in God’s plan b/c of his impatience to see his own story to completion? What if David retaliated & didn’t allow God to use his distress to train him? What if Esther chose comfort & fear over faith & sacrifice?

However, we know the end of their stories. We see how God uses each of these excruciating & persisting life events for the good. We see how God goes above & beyond to bless & care for their hearts.

BUT because we don’t know our own story yet, it is easy to become self piteous in facing our hardships. It’s tempting to believe that God doesn’t care. Yet who knows what these trials are preparing us for?

Seeing God working in each of these stories is teaching me to truly take the hard moments in stride. He even demonstrates this concept in nature. I look at the beauty of Horseshoe Bend (pictured above) and forget all of the extreme processes of weathering that were necessary to carve out this breathtaking structure. We marvel at the amazing product of 6 million years of painful sculpting.

It might take a lifetime of patience to see the full picture, but I can trust that God is weaving a beautiful tapestry out of each of our lives. Like Joseph, David & Esther, God wants to use the hardships in our lives to prepare us for something more. And just as Job so faithfully stated, if we allow these trials to refine us, we will come forth as gold. Patience with the blessings besties. God’s got us!!