How do we resist the pull of this world until our tour of duty here is completed?
There are many lessons to be learned from the story of Esther, a Jew in exile who married the monarch of a vast kingdom(we in the Church are also in exile today).
The Jews, God’s only people on earth at this time, were a minority people in a ‘strange land’, as Psalm 137 tells us. They had to learn the ways of their captors and live according to them. Ironically some Jews learned them so well that they never returned to the land God had given them. They knew the ways of Babylon so well that they chose the riches of that world rather than the struggles of life in Jerusalem and Judea. We too can become so captivated by the things of this world that we forget our own people and place. Nations periodically change their Ambassadors and diplomats serving abroad so they won’t identify too closely with the host people in place of their own; change their loyalties. Believers today can also become captivated by the familiarity and comforts of this temporary situation. In the here and now we are called to a journey and to show God’s love for people, but we were never meant to live as if this is our permanent home!
Esther instructed Mordecai and all the Jews in the citadel of Susa to go on a total fast for/with her to prevent the annihilation of the whole Jewish people. In the day of danger she and all the people turned wholly onto God. Everything else was set aside to seek God’s Face and live. Esther 4:16
Daniel when under threat, “Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God just as he had done before”. Daniel 6:10 Daniel had a routine that kept him centred on God, the Babylonian world never captured his heart.
Moses kept looking towards God while living under the government of Egypt(the WORLD), “By faith Moses when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be ill treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible”. Hebrews 11:24-27
God ordained Sabbaths and Feast Days so that people would stop work and rest. Whole days and even weeks set aside to seek God(these are being eroded today). We are in exile and Earth is not our final home. We too need to step out of the struggles of daily life and turn to God. This world wars against our souls in many ways, so we must choose to spend time before the Lord and not be overwhelmed while living here.
God bless and keep us today.