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by David Cerullo
“If you remain silent at this time, relief
and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your
father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal
position for such a time as this?” - (Esther 4:14 NIV).
Esther seemed
like an unlikely hero. She was a Hebrew orphan who lived with her Uncle
Mordecai.
Her people had
been in captivity for over 100 years, and she was carried off against her will
to the palace in Shushan, where she was placed in a house of women under the
care of a eunuch named Hegai.
Rather than
seeking her own will, she humbly submitted to God’s plans for her life.
Esther’s story
would compare with any modern fairytale: A beautiful young Jewish girl torn
from her homeland and taken as a captive to Persia; a tyrannical ruler who
banished his queen from her royal position and initiated a search for her
successor; and of course, an evil villain, Haman, who desired to perpetrate
genocide against the Jews.
At a pivotal
moment in the history of the Jewish people, Mordecai confronted Esther with
these timeless words:
“If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews
will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as
this?” - (Esther
4:14 NIV).
Just as the Lord sovereignly orchestrated the
circumstances to prepare Esther “for such a time as this,” so too He’s
weaving together the strands of your life into a beautiful tapestry to reflect
His glory.
Remember today that you can trust an unknown future to
an all-knowing God.
For the Jewish
people and for every believer today, we can be confident of this: “He marked
out their appointed times in history” (Acts 17:26 NIV).
God has placed you in this time in history.
He has orchestrated your circumstances and experiences
to prepare you to carry out His purposes. And now it’s your time to shine!
Even when some things don’t seem to make sense, God
has a plan for your victory and success (Jeremiah 29:11).
He has a happy ending in mind for YOUR story, just as
He accomplished for Esther!
A Special Miracle Season
Although God
has ordained happy endings for His people, that doesn’t mean our lives will
always be easy.
I hear from so
many of our friends and Inspiration Partners who’ve experienced difficult
seasons recently in their health, finances, families, or peace of mind.
However, God
knows we all need breakthroughs in our lives from time to time.
That’s why He
has put special days and seasons on His calendar. This month we will celebrate
the Feast of Tabernacles, one of His three “Appointed Times” each year to bless
His people with supernatural blessings and miracles (see Exodus 23
and Leviticus 23).
Along with the feasts of Passover and Pentecost, Tabernacles is
one of three “Holy Convocations” — special times of the year that we’re
to celebrate FOREVER — “throughout your generations” (Leviticus
23:21).
The Lord calls these special dates on the calendar “MY
appointed times” (Leviticus 23:2), days meant to be set aside for
HIM.
God says He
wants to meet with us during these three Appointed Times — to receive our
praise, our consecration, and our offerings.
He promises
that if we faithfully observe these special seasons, He will bless us, meet our
needs, and intervene in the difficult circumstances of our lives.
A Time to Harvest
King Solomon reminds us of the importance
of recognizing God’s special times and seasons:
“For everything there is a season, A time for every activity under heaven… A time
to plant and a
time to harvest” - (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).
I believe that
this verse contains a powerful message of encouragement from the Lord…
Just as you’ve
faithfully obeyed God during your “time to plant,” you will
experience great joy during this “time to harvest.”
You see, the
celebration of these three feasts is a way to synchronize our lives with God’s
cycle of Seedtime and Harvest.
As we are
faithful and obedient to bring our special offerings to Him
during these feasts, God keeps His Word to bless our lives in supernatural ways
during the next season.
Just as the
Israelites learned this rhythm of living in the covenant promises of God, we
must learn it too!
In Due Season
Few things in
life are more difficult than waiting for our Harvest.
We live in a
“microwave” society that expects quick and easy results, and sometimes we’re
like that in our prayer life.
However,
farmers know they must patiently wait for their season of harvest.
If they’ve
faithfully planted and watered their Seeds, it’s only a matter of time before
their harvest comes:
“… for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap… And let us not grow
weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart”
- (Galatians
6:7-9).
God has a “due
season” for you — a time to Reap your Harvest of blessings.
And I believe
that season is at hand as we celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles this month.
So, I encourage you to trust God today — with your life, your
time, your resources, with everything. He has a plan to bless in in “such
a time as this.”
Your partner to
reach the Lost,
P.S. Click here to see
the great resources we want to sow back into your life to help unlock a new
season of God’s blessings.
David
Cerullo is
the founder, chairman, and CEO of Inspiration Ministries, located in Indian
Land, South Carolina – a ministry dedicated to impacting people for Christ
worldwide through media. The son of international evangelist Morris Cerullo,
David took a less traditional approach to ministry, graduating from Oral
Roberts University with a degree in business administration and management. He
has authored over 20 books, and operates a global media ministry that
powerfully impacts the world for Christ. More from
David on Inspiration.org.
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