In The Word Wednesday Link-Up- #1

When Becky @ Beauty for Ashes   told me she wanted to host a "What I’m learning in Scripture" link-up I told her I was 100% on board.  I am really honored to be a co-host!!  Did God KNOW I needed the accountability and fellowship?  I bet so.  God’s pretty cool like that!

I’ve been doing a Beth Moore Esther study with a friend and I thought I’d share some of my reflections.

source

I’ll start by saying that one thing that generally AMAZES me about the bible is how you can be reading one thing that SEEMINLY doesn’t apply to your life but THEN it turns out it kinda sorta REALLY does!  I mean, HOW CAN IT when the bible is JUST telling you a STORY about a king and a queen back in “bible days” in what is probably now Iraq and you are sitting in your bedroom in the US in 2012?  BUT, THAT’S the TOTALLY freaky AMAZING thing about GOD and WHAT he does for us!  Did you read the word “freaky”?  YES, because THAT’S how it is SOMETIMES!  Freaky!  In a completely AWESOME way…like MORE awesome than you can EVEN put into words!  Do you know what I’m talking about?

Well, let me give you a little example.  There has been a bit of conflict in my life.  I’ve struggled with it off and on for some years and some days it seemed to get a lot worse instead of better.  It left me angry, hurt and disappointed.  I’ve wrestled with God a bit over it.  I’ve tried to ignore it, be angry about it, fight about it, to no avail.  In reading Esther Chapter 2 verses 15-17 & reading commentary by Beth Moore, something struck me in regards to MY SITUATION! 

If you know what is said in these verses then you might be CONFUSED to say the least, BUT this is a PRIME example of God’s ability to speak to us in ALL circumstance.

Esther 2: 15-17 tells us that the time had come for King Xerxes’ new queen to be chosen.  The prior queen had been banished by the king himself for not coming to see him when he asked.  WOW!  Glad we don’t live in THOSE times.  We don’t know exactly what happened to Vashti (said “ex” queen) BUT in those times the common penalty was DEATH.  YIKES!  Anyway, as I said the time had come for King Xerxes to choose his new queen AND an orphaned Jewish girl named Esther was next up to come before the king.  It says in verse 15 that Esther was allowed to take anything with her to go into the king but she didn’t take ANYTHING except what the Eunich (the person in charge of those women waiting on the king…you know the ones that hoped to picked to be the next queen) advised.  It also says that Esther won everyone’s favor.  Beth Moore explains that “(Esther) wins favor not by threatening the structures of leadership (as Vashti had), but by compliance, by listening to and pleasing those under whose care she finds herself”.

THOSE words: “compliance, by listening to and pleasing” and by inferring to humble yourself gained FAVOR, STRUCK ME as what I needed to being doing in MY situation.  It was as CLEAR as God speaking to me himself.  Instead he spoke to me through Esther and Beth Moore. 

No matter who I feel is right or wrong in my situation doesn’t matter at all.  What matters is how I act and what I do in that situation. 

I woke up the next day with a renewed sense of purpose in that situation and I APPLIED compliance, listening skills, a pleasing AND humble demeanor along with a HEAFTY dose of holding my tongue and let me tell the situation IMPROVED.  There is a reason for the popular saying you gather more bees with honey than with vinegar!!!

With my purpose of following what I knew God had asked me to do that night firmly in hand I’ve been able to LOOK at things in a more positive light, a more FORGIVING light and a calmer light.  For the first time perhaps EVER I can ACCEPT it for what it is.

WHAT a FREEING experience!


And here's a little word from Becky!!!


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I would LOVE it if you linked up with a post about what God is showing you in the Word, or in your life. Please also stop by and see what God has been teaching my beautiful co-hosts this week: 

Sarah at Fontenot Four
Kelly at The Houtz House Party

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Into the Word Wednesday Blog Hop Rules:

1. Write a post about what God is teaching you this week.

2.  Follow the host and hostess. 

3. Grab a button to put on your blog - the more the merrier!

4. Check out (and comment) other people's blogs and be blessed by all the sisters and brothers around the world!