May the Lord show you mercy

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near" (Isaiah 55:6). 

An interesting fact about the book of Esther, the seventeenth book of the Bible, is that there is not one single mention of "God" from the beginning to the end. Yet, on every page of that book and in every aspect of the story it tells, we see God at work, not silently but very openly. In fact, the events chronicled in the book of Esther are nothing other than the manifestation of the awesome works of God. Therefore, to see God in everything that took place in that book is to see correctly. Join me, friends for an exciting adventure that will span several weeks as the Lord brings to us timeless truths inspired by His words in this unique book of the Bible.

The book of Esther begins with the mention of king Ahasuerus, the "lion king", who should immediately remind us of and points us to the almighty God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. God is the true Sovereign over the world and over the people who dwell in it, for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein (Psalms 24:1). So in the king's invitation to Vashti, we can draw a parallel to God's invitation to mankind. In Vashti's refusal to honour the king's invitation, we also see a picture of the attitude of human beings in despising God and ignoring His call. 

Beloved, God desires that you draw near to Him. He wants to lavish His love on you. He wants to show you great and mighty things that you don't yet know. The humbling part of it is that you are the one who really needs Him, far much more than He needs you. Whereas He does not need you to exist, you owe your existence to His pleasure. You need His grace, mercy and blessings. Yet, He is the one seeking and calling you. In my opinion, it is high-level foolishness to continue to ignore or refuse Him. 

But let us note that the forbearance and patience of God will not be forever. We cannot afford to continue to despise the riches of His goodness and longsuffering because all these are supposed to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). The door to God will not remain open forever. And even if this were to be otherwise, it is important to realize that you will not be alive forever. The opportunity to reconcile with God will certainly expire when you die. This is why the Bible counsels that you should seek the Lord whilst He may be found and that you should call upon Him while He is near. 

This is also why The Preacher exhorts that you remember NOW your creator in the days of your youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1). I define the days of your youth as your "now days". Whatever your age might be, if you can comprehend what you are reading now, you are in the "days of your youth". Now is the time to draw near to Him. Is He calling you to work for Him or render Him some services? Now is the time for you to say "Yes" to God. Now is the time to do His will and fulfill His pleasures. God is calling you now; please don't "Vashti" your opportunity! If you toy with this opportunity, you may never have another chance to do the biddings of God. Whatever He requires of you to do, DO IT NOW! 

May the Lord show you mercy.