Evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and…known (in) the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:13-15.

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17.

See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you. Isaiah 42:9.

Each of the above verses I read in my devotionals after reading Scripture. Each was so appropriate not only for our chapter today, Esther 2, but also for my life and yours. We shouldn’t be surprised by the bad things that happen in this world in our time or any time of men; yet, I admit I am surprised often. We have each of us had ample opportunity to experience what sins do in our lives – our own sins and those of others. I pray God awakens each one of us to His love for us because He will rejoice over us with singing when the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah…and He will reign for ever and ever…Revelation 11:15. How can I not long for that day with all the hate and destruction going on in our world today?

A new thing because when have any of us truly lived free in God’s love and no longer enslaved in sins? Can you imagine what that will be like? God can.

In our chapter God is working. We can’t see it because we are so busy living our lives. We meet Mordecai, a Jew living in the kingdom of Xerxes. He has a niece that he has raised since her parents died whose name is Hadassah, also known as Esther. She is one of the virgins chosen to be prepared to meet the king so he can choose a new wife. Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. v. 17. She never revealed her ancestry because Mordecai had forbidden it. v. 10. Mordecai continued to watch over her and was sitting at the king’s gate when he overheard 2 men conspiring to kill Xerxes. He told Esther who told the king giving full credit to Mordecai, and the king’s life was saved, v. 21-23. Can all of this be coincidence?

How about in our lives? I keep wondering why God allows the evil that so many people live through. Maybe so we can learn the difference because that is the choice we all make…our own way apart from God’s loving guidance. Listen to God’s nudges in your own life. He will never lead you astray and He will never leave you. And yes, we will die. Jesus came to live this life and become one of us (John 1:14) and died. But that was not all. He rose. He showed us the way to live our lives loving the Father and one another. He showed us the way after death. He will never leave us. Our choice always. His choice to love us.