March 16, 2021

Esther 7:3-4 (NKJV) – Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. 4 For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.” 

Esther finally presents her request to save her and her people’s lives to the king. In this moment, she has earned the kings ear, however, it is unknown what will happen next. Now more than ever, it is important for Esther to remain tactful in her request as to not place accusations on the king and to stay on the kings side. So she uses the same language the king and Haman used in the edict and communicates that she was trying to stop him from getting the short end of the deal.

There is real wisdom in being able to deliver difficult information well. As with most things in our lives, we are unable to do this on our own and must relay on the Lord to help us in our communication during difficult situations.

Had Esther not communicated well, the kings reaction could have been much different. As Christians, what are potential consequences of poor communication?

What are some things that are difficult for you to communicate? How can you rely on the Lord to assist you in these?

Esther 7:5-7 (NKJV) – 5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?” 6 And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. 

In these verses, Esther identifies Haman as the one who set the plot against her. The king grows angry that someone would dare to take the queen and her people’s life and storms out of the room. Because of the ease to which the king is influenced, he also played a part of this plot. In this moment, he is deciding how to punish Haman without admitting his own fault.

We can be placed in tricky situations when we allow ungodly influences to affect our thoughts, words, and actions. It is those influences that will often lead us into moments of sin.

In your life, what influences try to pull you away from God and into sin?

In the kingdom of God, we function in the light. One of the most liberating aspects of the Gospel is that it reveals our sins and with full knowledge of all of our weaknesses, Christ forgives us without judgment. The more we hide our faults, the more we leave ourselves captives to our faults. The more we judge each other by our faults, the less that we are loving each other through the lens of the Gospel. As a church, we want to be a place all faults can be seen in the light and those faults can be forgiven by the Lord and healed by Him with each other by the other’s side.

What are some things that hold you back from sharing your faults with your friends, family, and church? What could be done to help you feel more comfortable with this?