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A Heavenly Response

 

Two terrorists entered a Catholic Church in France this week and murdered an elderly priest. This attack was just one of numerous terror attacks that took place throughout the world. Just this year, there have been more than 1000 attacks and 8500 fatalities as a result. These attacks took place in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, Somalia, Normandy, Egypt, Germany, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Venezuela, Israel, Cameroon, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Madagascar, India, Philippines, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Central African Republic, Belgium, Lake Chad, France, Uganda, Lebanon, Jordan, Niger, Bijbehara, Burkina Faso, Srinagar, Tanzania, Abkhazia, Russia, Hizma, Khan Shaykhun, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Armenia, Tunisia, Sudan, Ain-Assad Air Base, Hebron, Rwanda, Kiryat Arba, Uruguay, Sultan Kidarat, Ireland, Beit El, and the United States of America. It appears to me that we need a heavenly response to an earthly situation.

 

Centuries ago, the Jewish people lived in exile. Originally, they lived under the rule of the Babylonian Empire however during the time of this story, they lived under the rule of the Persian Empire. Under the Persian King’s rule, Jews could return to Jerusalem to rebuild their city while others chose to remain in Persia. A man named Haman, who happened to be the most powerful man in the Persian Kingdom, issued an irrevocable decree calling for the extermination of all the Jews remaining in Persia. During this time, a young Hebrew orphan named Esther became the Queen of Persia. Due to her position in the Persian Kingdom, it appeared as though the responsibility of acting on behalf of the Jewish people fell squarely on her shoulders. Esther would have to illegally present herself to the King to intercede on behalf of her people, an act that could put her life at risk.

 

Esther 4:17 NIV

“Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”

 

I love the manner in which Esther responded to the situation. Esther did not shy away from her responsibility, however, before taking action, she recognized that this earthly situation was going to require more than courage, it was going to take divine intervention to solve. Esther knew exactly what was needed in order to elicit God’s divine intervention; it was going to require that she as well as everyone else fast and pray.

 

As we witness the present day situations taking place all over the world, I am certain that we too need divine intervention. I know that our political leaders insist that if we elect them they will solve our problems. However, the problems we face do not have a political solution. In all honesty, our political leaders have not and will never have the ability to solve our problems. The reason why their solutions are to no avail is because, what we are presently experiencing requires divine intervention, and divine intervention requires us to fast and to bow our knees in prayer.

 

To walk in Esther’s shoes is to recognize that our earthly situations require divine intervention.

 

Each Friday, our congregation meets to fast and pray, perhaps it is time for you to join us so that by coming together in agreement, we can seek God’s divine intervention.