Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Proverbs 4:5-6.

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord. Psalm 107:43.

Yesterday I was reading the account of when many had left Jesus because He was telling them His body and blood was the true bread of life. A hard saying so easily misunderstood. And then…“Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you – they are full of the Spirit and life.” John 6:35-63.

The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing.

When I consider God – Father, Son, Spirit – and all He does, how can I not be in awe? When I consider all that I can’t comprehend and don’t even know, how can I not be in awe of God who created all we see? Everything in our lives is held in cycles of growth. Change is constant. Life goes on in ever repeating patterns. And all held in God’s love.

Our chapter, Esther 10, is but a paragraph that ends the book of Esther. King Xerxes imposes a tribute throughout the empire, v. 1. Life went on and yet the lessons were there that God was working to protect a people He had chosen to represent Him to the world for the world. The Spirit of God gives life, not the flesh. True life is in God and He has given so generously. These words we read throughout Scripture count for wisdom when we remember that God is love and all He does for us is for our good. He watched over a people then and He watches over us today. People will plan for evil in every age and the Book of Esther reminds us God is here working in ways we cannot see and thus cannot fully appreciate. What will we see one day in hindsight? What wisdom will we have gleaned? And when we look forward? God is here. Always.