“I don’t want the world to define God for me. I want the Holy Spirit to reveal God to me.” A.W. Tozer
The word God is never used in the book of Esther. And yet, His fingerprints are all over its story.
The name Esther comes from the word “hiddenness,” which Jewish sources believe comes from Deuteronomy 31:18 where God says “on that day I will hide My face.”
What day? When the Israelites would treat Him as if He were one of many gods in a type of religious smorgasbord.
He took a step back, though still present, to see what they would do. Would they repent and run into His waiting arms (2 Kings and Jeremiah)? Nope.
In Esther, the entire Jewish race was on the verge of extinction. Would they run into His waiting arms? This time, they did.
There are times when the Father is silent. Though no one may be around, which makes you feel alone; you are never alone. He is there with open arms waiting to see what you will do.
It’s much the same as when my children were little. I would open my arms super wide inviting them to walk or run to me. I was there making sure they wouldn’t fall. Yet, they still needed to take a step toward me.
You may be going through a time where you’re not sensing the Lord’s presence. You are not alone. He is waiting for you to make a choice.
If you love Him, you will run into His wide open waiting arms through obeying what you already know to do.

Your daily choices reflect who you believe you are.
It’s been said, “If we want to know the true nature of a person, there is only one question to ask: what is it that they praise?”
The Psalms are full of praises about who God is and what He has done. He is worthy of a praisitude (yes, I made up that word!) – an attitude of praise.
Jeremiah states that if we praise worthless idols/things, we become worthless ourselves. Thus, a praisitude can elevate our attitude, which will affect our daily choices to love Jesus.
Sometimes praising God, though, is a matter of faith. We don’t feel it…yet. It’s at these moments that we show who we are, children of God.
We trust Jesus enough to praise Him despite how we feel or even when it seems illogical to do. This step of faith will raise your attitude.
Want to elevate your walk with Jesus (i.e. stop being angry, bummed out, etc.)? Let the Spirit show you truths you need to praise Jesus about; and then, begin to focus on and praise Him for them.
Your praisitude will lift your attitude to a new altitude

“Do you want to be where I am?” – Jesus
During his struggle to find his calling between pursuing a career in art or one in ministry, Oswald Chambers heard God say, “I want you in My service, but I can do without you.”
Pretty blunt, right? In all reality, God can get what He wants done without our abilities and talents or lack of them either.
What we do or don’t do neither adds to nor detracts from who He is. He is God. He is self-sufficient. He is awesomely almighty just as He is.
We on the other hand, are not. We need an outside source to make us whole (i.e. saved). And, Jesus is the only outside source that can do this.
So ask yourself, “Do I want to be where Jesus is?”
It means leaving behind your great ideas about what you can do or your insecurities about what you can’t do for God in order to get a front row seat to watch who God is and what only He can do.
It is the story of the boiling hot bath. No one wants to be the first person to jump in, but as the first person jumps in the heat begins to dissipate.
Jesus already jumped into the hot water of the cross to be with His Father. He jumped into death to experience the Almighty’s power to bring Him back to life.
So now, though the water is still hot, He is asking us to be with Him in order to know and to experience how awesomely almighty He is.
From the center of this hot springs, Jesus is saying to you, “I am here. Jump in, the water is…fine!”
It’s time to jump.

“Do not be afraid. Believe – Jesus.”
Jesus got a little irritated with those who kept asking for another, then another, and then yet another sign or miracle from Him. He said, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
Did they believe even when they saw His miracles? The overwhelming majority didn’t. In fact, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, nailed just like the pictured foot, the leaders of the day said, “Come down from the cross and we’ll believe.”
They clamored for still another miracle!
Yet, the greatest miracle of all was coming three days later – His resurrection. Did they believe then? No. Instead, they attempted to cover up the fact that Jesus was out of the grave. They just didn’t want to believe.
Choice is a wonderful thing. We have to want to believe.
Jesus puts belief in its proper place. He said if you trust or believe Him, then act on what He says. Then and only then will know it to be true and experience the freedom He promises (see John 8:31-32).
What is Jesus asking you to believe today? Believe first and then you’ll see results, not before.

“Jesus did what He did because of Who He was.”
Jesus knew who He was, the Son of God. He then followed the Father or did what He did based on that truth. It is foundational to what He asked of us: deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him.
Jesus is asking us to divorce ourselves from ourselves (deny), and take it a step further by killing self (cross). Since its dead, self can’t speak, which means you can listen to and follow someone else – Jesus.
Hear me now. I don’t get something from God by doing something for God. This is religion. I get something from God because of who I am – God’s child through faith in Jesus.
He made me the Father’s unconditional child. I am now a saint with a self-challenge that continually needs to die so I can better follow Him.
Every time I choose to lose self, I win by becoming more like Jesus. This brings what I was looking for when I was calling the shots in the first place – fulfillment.
Therefore, take a breath. Hold it. Let it out slowly. Slow is fast. Cease from trying to make things happen. It’s not your job. Your job is to know who you are and simply follow Him.