Daily Devotionals

'Every Day Light' with Selwyn Hughes

Devotional: July 8th

For Reading and Meditation:
     Esther 4:1-9

When the news of Haman's cruel edict reaches the ears of Mordecai, his reaction is one of stunned sorrow. He realizes that because of his unwillingness to bow before Haman, every single Jew is to be annihilated. Immediately, he puts on sackcloth and ashes - the Jewish symbol of deep mourning. So dressed, Mordecai makes his way to the palace gates in the hope that someone inside might see him and inform Esther of his condition. His plan works, and as soon as news is passed to Esther about his unusual appearance, she wonders as to the cause. She has not yet heard about Haman's plan to kill all Jews and thus she can only speculate about the reason for his strange behavior. She asks herself: What kind of trouble can Mordecai be in? Loss of property or money perhaps? Dispatching a messenger to the palace gates with a fresh supply of clothing and instructions to find out what is causing Mordecai such deep sorrow, she learns for the first time of Haman's plan to exterminate her people. Perhaps it was at this moment that Mordecai and Esther began to gain some insight into the purpose of their being in the royal city of Susa in Persia. Sometimes we fail to recognize the guidance of God until we are in a crisis. Then how reassuring it is to know that the God who has foreseen everything, and has gone before us, is unfailingly at work to bring all things to a positive end. In Sunday school I sang: "he who has led, will lead." Now, it is more than a song: it is a constant spiritual support.

O God, forgive me that I so easily forget You are not only around me, beneath me, and above me, but also ahead of me. Nothing can happen to me that You have not foreseen or anticipated. May this truth be also my constant support. In Jesus' Name. Amen.