Laboring Queens

The last week was berserk.

Mumbai, the most energetic metropolitan of India was paralyzed with fear when terrorists attacked 11 busy and populated places on 26th November.The Taj luxury hotel, a prestigious 105 year old heritage building was under siege holding in custody many hostages. The Oberoi Trident Hotel was also victim to the same.The Nariman House, which is a Jewish outreach center in the city was seized and assaulted leaving 8 of its inmates killed. The total number of confirmed fatalities of the 2 day Islamic militant attack sized up to 195 and more than 300 people were wounded.

In Tamil Nadu, torrential rains created havoc.86 persons died, and thousands became homeless.Roads became inaccessible, and standing crops in over 100,000 acres of land became totally submerged in flood waters.

I was reading the book of Esther as a part of my daily devotion and in seasons of crisis, such as these times, I've learnt many lessons for my own life from the life of Esther.

"...Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" [Esther 4:14]

The Background

King Xerxes ruled over a kingdom that stretched from India in the east to Egypt in the west.

The lives of all the Jews living in this Persian empire were threatened by the order given by King Xerxes who in-turn was poisoned by minister Haman, an anti-semitic.
One Jew was safe, Haddasah, who rose to be a queen and was later named Esther.

She had a choice, she could reveal her identity and fish an opportunity to save her kindred, but if the King was not convinced she could lose her life instantly. Or ; she could stay silent, and live in safety and comfort while her brethren were being massacred.

We know how Esther fasts and prays for 3 days to boldly confront the situation. She meets the king, despite the high risk involved, plans a perfect banquet inviting Haman, and gently revealed to the king his evil ploy , and further created opportunities to provoke his anger and completely destroyed Haman, along with his plan and secured the safety and progress of the Jews.

The Lessons

Some are called to be a queen in the enemy's palace.

I am graduating in Engineering this year, I plan to do a masters in Business Administration and also want to be certified in various technologies.I see myself as an entrepreneur in the near future handling diversified products and services.

But do you know what I am called for?

I am called to be laborer in the field of the Lord's harvest.This is not my wish list, but my confirmed purpose.

Every work, every degree, every business venture for me is an effort, an act of labor in my Father's vineyard.

Esther used her position to maneuver the decision of the king preventing the annihilation of the Jews.She could not have done this, had she been an ordinary Jew girl.[Esther 5:3]

Sometimes God gives His children extraordinary position and power in this sinful world, not just because He loves to "bless" but because there is an assignment that He intends to complete through the position He's given you.
*God uses those who are willing to be promoted but who are not willing to be assimilated.

Greater the position, higher the responsibility towards the Kingdom.

You need Prayer even if you are a queen.

It is strange how some of us label only a few as "prayer warriors", and conveniently delegate the conscious praying habit to them alone.

She was the queen, but she fasted and prayed for 3 days in order to confront the situation with the king.[Esther 4:15]

Fasting is the act of humbling your whole being to the sovereignty of Almighty God.Prayer is the result of my yearning to be connected without interruption to the Heart of the Master.

Esther did not 'brainstorm' or try 'six thinking hats' or operate on 'metaphorical thinking' ,or 'Fuzzy thinking' or 'mind mapping' or 'Synetics' , to solve her crisis situation; instead she prayed.

I don't deny the power of creative thinking, but that comes second to the power of prayer. Don't just do it, Pray first; a prayer of humble submission.A prayer of total acknowledgment of the authority of God. The Master will then speak His strategy and plan for action.

Because she prayed,

1. she found favor in the eyes of the king and found an opportunity to meet him,[Esther 5:2]
   
2. she came up with a strategy to throw a banquet inviting Haman ;[Esther 5:4]
3. God made the king have swings of insomnia which compelled him to read the old diaries where he read the account of how Mordecai had saved his life from an assassination plot years before.He was reminded that he never rewarded him,so early next morning the king make arrangements to reward him.[Esther 6:1-10]
   

All of this further made way to complete her assignment.

On the day of the banquet, Esther intelligently provoked the king's anger by exposing Haman and his evil plot and caused him to be hung in the gallows that he arranged for Mordecai.[Esther 7:1-10]

Divine providence will not come your way, without continuous conversation with God.

Give up your present and step out in courage and faith.

Hadassah, gave up her comfortable average, ordinary Jew girl's life, and proceeded to venture out into an entirely new world, to become a queen in a pagan palace. She had to undergo 12 months of beauty treatment and preparations before she could enter the contest and qualify to be King Xerxes' new queen.[Esther 2:12-18]

It is easy to play a safe game, and stay secure. But it needs tremendous courage to get out of your comfort zone and dare to take the challenge.It takes preparation and perseverance to be promoted.I believe Hadassah believed that she was not ordinary material, so she stepped out and she made a difference in the lives of millions of Jews.

Once she became queen Esther, she did not settle for luxury, and allow her self to become a slave to the new life that had got hold of her, instead she stepped out in boldness risking her life by deciding to reveal her Jewish origin, saying "If I perish, I perish".[Esther 4:16]

As a Christian, we need to face battles in every day life, because we have a very powerful enemy who is afraid of our very powerful potential given to us by our omnipotent Father.

We have a choice, we can fight and move forward or grumble and remain where we are.

You make the decision.

Will you step out in faith and take a risk, and reap the benefit, for yourself and many others whose whose eternity depends on you?

"...Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"[Esther 4:14]

Will you step out to serve?

It was unfortunate though, that recently when I was cleaning a wardrobe my eyes fell on the gift I had given a loved one.

My mind raced back remembering where I had bought it, how many other different gifts I considered before my mind set on this , how dear and precious this loved one was, that I wanted to get something that would help the person in a special way.

And not just that, I had penned down a few words straight from my heart. The words too were there glaring at me.

That cherished gift that I had presented with a lot of noble intentions was lying there, uncared for, unnoticed, and unused.It stung my heart hard.I was angry and disappointed wondering if the person ever understood the value of what I had bought and I wished if I go right out and give that person a piece of my mind. But my Master had other lessons..

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

I realized recently, that the gifts God give us, does not come with a bright red wrapper, that we usually expect, I also doubt that if God always uses dramatic visitations to impart his personal gifts to His children.But since, we get carried away looking for tags and wrappers, we miss the point and don't identify the many gifts God has given us.

It is my imagination that after God created me., my basics and my framework without which I cannot survive on the planet. He took me to His secret place and placed several special, precious, and unique gifts in my life., because thats what people do to what when they call someone as their "prized possesion"...they give them things immensely valuable.

My Master does things differently, not just because He is God but because His love is Higher and His ways greater, and because He is my Father. He chose not to make the gifts reveal themselves from the day I was born, but only after I personally identify and acknowledge and honour those gifts.

It is the responsibility of everyone who claims to be a 'born-again', 'spirit-filled' Christian to honour the gifts given by God. Failing to do so, is a clear sin.

I believe firmly and I have experienced personally, that when we begin to serve, the gifts that God had embedded in our framework start to show up.

• For a long time, I wasted a lot of my thinking fuel trying to figure out what exactly I was good at, I was brainstorming, meditating and tried every other tactic to find out my gift. Nothing helped, it only made me feel worse and one fine day, I gave up, concluding that gifts were meant only for special people, not for an ordinary girl who's just struggling every day to keep her Christian life intact.

When we give up, God starts up. He gave me few mundane unappealing opportunities, and waited to see if I'll serve.Serve like a servant. A great man of God once said, "You know that you serve like a servant by seeing your reaction when you are treated like one."

I stopped looking for 'big' things and started serving in small things for ordinary people whom I meet everyday,little then did I realize that through that I was serving an extraordinary God.The more I gave myself up for serving, slowly but gloriously I began to see different gifts in my life unveiling everyday.The truth was that my loving Master, did not put just one gift, (actually I was searching for just a single one!!) but several interlinked and related gifts in my life.

People who complain, that they are not talented or gifted are those who've not really stepped out and dared to serve. God's gifts will remain wrapped up and sealed all the days of your life if you are not going to decide to serve. Serving is not a gift by itself meant for a few who are 'called', rather it is the vehicle for any gift to actually operate.It is God's "Directions for use" for your gift. Unless you embrace this, you cannot use it, honour it or even identify it.

"As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God's many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor]."1 Peter 4:10[Amplified Bible]

• Another thing that stops us from stepping out is the fear of making mistakes. This is one thing that am fully convinced about. As long as you are going to be afraid of messing up somewhere, you'll be doing nothing.

I've also made this observation from my own life. I have never been a 'perfectionist', but I have been a very skillfull fault finder. I used to find fault wih everyone and with everything . Becuase of this attitude of mine, I was afraid to be used, fearing that people would find fault with me. God changed this attitude of mine, and taught me that it was not my business to judge others' works.

Once this changed, I stopped seeing mistakes and started embracing every opportunity. When I let down the burden of judging the acts and works of others, my life became easy and free to do the things that God had wanted me to do.

• I gave lack of recognition as an excuse for not using my gift. But that's not the purpose of God's gift.God does not give gifts to His children to impress others but rather to impact others.You need to be a boss to impress, but you need to get dirty and stoop down with your serving attitude to impact lives for the Master.That's when your gifts begin to surface and shield you with power to administer God's grace in the lives of others.

Today, I don't know of any who are blessed or comforted with what I write but I know of many, who began to write for the Master's glory after seeing me write!! Maybe God will bring up an annointed writer from among them who will touch the hearts of millions with the healing power of my Master. Can you see how I am used?

When the Master returns, He's going to be very angry if he finds your gift unnoticed, uncared and unused, because the gift in your life is an exclusive one.

Your gift has an assignment that bears the responsibility of many other lives which it has to touch, heal and transform.

Will you step out to serve?

The red-purse

I was frantically searching for my money-purse today. Inspite, of my friends and parents reprimanding me, I have not yet learnt the habit of carrying it everywhere I go, so I usually lose track of where my purse is; but then., I've never lost it.I retrieve it when required.

Today, I needed to give money to a friend so I was trying to locate it. I searched for it in every ususal place.I cleared up the mountain of papers,books and other junk on my table and started my expedition of finding my red purse.The electricity went off and if I continued any further considering my exceptional eyesight, it would be a vain attempt. Moreover, it was nearing the time to board my bus to college, and I would in no way want to strike the first day of my exam on a wrong note.

Caught in a deluge of information, formulas, principles, names and propositions relating to Management. The image of my red purse tried floating through, ressisting the strong currents of my brain waves working hard with the answer sheet.

After the ordeal, inside the exam hall. Thorougly exhausted, and with fingers frozen with pain. I forgot about the red purse. I had a peaceful nap in the bus, and then returned home to continue. I slept for a while and then, the red purse came back. No alarm could have woken me up faster!!! I woke up with a startle and headed straight downstairs and began looking for it.

I searched and searched, in the process I cleared so much of junk(my study hols quota!!) that was piled up in the hall.I emptied the huge stack of old papers and believe me, I understood the meaning of "nook and corner" only today. 

No avail, I could'nt find it anywhere. I started mentally preparing myself to be given up for condemnation to be proved guilty and then to receive punishment. I heard the voice of my mom in my head, "You are such an irresponsible person!!", my dad, "You are lazy and unorganized".Then finally the verdict, "No more money, no more cards, everything will be stopped hereafter". Wow!! my brain was enjoying a roller-coaster ride for free.

It is great to have your grandparents around, and I have the privelege of having my loving grandma living with me.When she saw my frenzy,she patiently asked me some questions about the whereabouts of my purse, when and where I last saw it, and then gave me a stick and asked me to move it under the TV table and feel for my purse there. I didn't really believe that my purse would lie in that dark dirty corner. But I just did what she said. 

Bravo! Eureka!! I found my long lost red purse covered with a layer of dust. I picked it up wiped off the cobwebs that had gotten over it.And then I gave it to my grandmother, I said "Ammachi, Here! you keep it and I'll get it from you when I want. Only you can keep it safe".

I just made a mental decision to never throw my stuff around, but this experience taught me just more than that.

I too, like my red purse sometimes wander off to a dark dirty corner. No one really notices, at first. But then as my behaviours begin to change, my attitudes change, and when laziness creeps in, then do people realize that I'm no where to be found.But there I am!! covered with dust and cobwebs  in a dirty dark corner.

My Master finds me.., no matter where I'd side track and then give me to the Safe Hands of the Holy Spirit (forgive me if I am theologically wrong!!) The Holy Spirit is the only One who truly knows me fully well.He takes care of me, nurtures me, gives me a gentle pat when I am wrong and sometimes a tough spank when I throw a tantrum. 

So safe and comfortable are His hands.If I need to be conected with God always, then the I need to surrender myself completely to the Holy Spirit. We can't really have 'more' of Him in your life rather we have to surrender the whole of us to Him.The Master may need me any time, sometimes for a Big thing and sometimes just for a little mundane errand,and if I am not found in the place where He left me then I lose a big opportunity to serve Him. So I decide to cling on firmly to the Holy Spirit.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,"[1 Peter 5:6]

Sometimes we consider the Holy Spirit just as an offer in the pacakage called 'salvation'.It is true that the moment you surrender your lives to Christ Jesus, the Holy Sprit comes and lives in your hearts. But thats only part of the story, it is we who have to give Him ultimate ownership and leadership of our heart,mind,soul, and body.Doing so helps us to walk around truly as sons and daughters of the living God.

Like my red-purse, now that I am in safe Refuge, He'll make sure that I don't wander off but stay secure, so that when my Master needs me he can pick me up and use me.

Cannot be forgotten

Dear Friends,

We are usually prone to getting into an emotional fit when everyone talks about persecution and pain, and then as time goes by conveniently forget things and carry on with our own lives.

I just want to encourage you to continue to join hands with thousands of other believers and pray for the persecution against our fellow brothers and sisters in our country. Orissa is still burning, and the injustices are still continuing with increased intensity.

Maybe we are separated by distances but we can travel on our knees and fight together. 

Traveling on your knees  

Last night I took a journey

To a land across the seas.

I didn't go by ship or plane - 

I traveled on my knees.

I saw so many people there

In bondage to their sin,

And Jesus told me I should go,

That there were souls to win.

But I said, "Jesus, I can't go

To lands across the seas."

He answered quickly, "Yes, you can -

By traveling on your knees."

He said, "You pray, I'll meet the need.

You call, and I will hear.

It's up to you to be concerned

For lost souls far and near." 

And so I did; knelt in prayer,

Gave up some hours of ease,

And with the Savior by my side

I traveled on my knees.

As I prayed on, I saw souls saved

And twisted persons healed,

I saw God's workers' strength renewed

While laboring on the field.

I said, "Yes Lord, I'll take the job.

Your heart I want to please.

I'll heed your call and swiftly go

By traveling on my knees..

By Sandra Goodwin

Prayer brings victory

How to pray for the persecuted church?

Affectionately yours,

Callie

Unanswered..Unasked!!

With just a few days more for my examinations, I feel suffocated. Maybe, I'm not all worked up but the weight is on my head and it is kinda haunting. There is this one particularly hard subject called Digital Signal Processing, which is giving me the goosebumps.

In seasons like this I just wish if there was some kind of pen drive that I could use to stuff the gargantuan formulas in my head, unfortunately or fortunately God did not make provisions for any external drives in our bodies.

The only best break I can give myself is to loiter around this special space that I've made for myself on the web.

And I have something very special to share about my Master too..

How many times have we really prayed for something and never got the answer that we expected? Or let me put it this way, How many times have we felt disappointed by God?

Well, I am not yet spiritual enough to say that I've always considered it pure joy whenever I felt that every prayer of mine reached the ceiling and then bounced back on my own head."Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,[James 1:1]"

I've felt disappointed, neglected and sometimes even cheated.......by God."How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?[Psalm 13:1]"

What an audacity must I have to say this about the Creator King ??

But that's the truth.. When God introduced Himself to me for the first time, I didn't really see Him as God, in His holiness and splendour. I just saw Him as a friend, a loving saviour who would make me a perfect candidate to heaven and give me the best life on earth.

Slowly, in each step of my journey with Him did I realize His greatness, His holiness, His majesty, and His power."...—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever [1 Timothy 6:15-16]"

Then I saw how unworthy I was to even call upon His name, only then I understood His grace and I still cannot comprehend his Love.I also saw that the journey was not going to be as ritzy as I imagined.

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. [1 John 3:1]"

Despite these realizations, when prayers seem unanswered for a long time; my inner person becomes like a deflated balloon.

"My soul is in anguish.

How long, O LORD, how long?

I am worn out from groaning;

all night long I flood my bed with weeping

and drench my couch with tears.[Psalm 6:3,6]"

Many prayers of mine have not yet been answered. And I am not keeping count either.But we cannot talk a 'one size fits all' strategy for dealing with unanswered prayers.

I think that if we can understand the category our unanswered prayer falls in, it would be easier to deal with it. These are just some of the categories that I have identified in my really small number of years as a Christian

1) When I clearly do not pray God's will, nothing will happen.

2)When I hold something against someone or are unforgiving then too will God not consider my requests.

3)When God wants to deepen my characters, He delays the answers.

4)When He wants to give me a double recompense he will allow me to go through pain and distress.

5)Sometimes, He just wants me to rely on His grace, and not on the answer to the prayer.

I started off, wanting to write about my unanswered prayers and what I need to do about it but I guess I'm going to wind up talking about unasked prayers.

I've heard numerous testimonies of how God has heard prayers and given miraculous answers.But somehow, I've never been bright enough to ask for the thing that is good enough for me. So God doesn't give me what I ask (fortunately!!!) but gives me what He thinks is best."As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.[Isaiah 55:9]"

Not to forget the numerous accidents that I've escaped, the deadly diseases that don't come near me, the lovely family that's still bonded to together, the scrumptious food that I eat everyday, the friends who love me in spite of my craziness, the resources that I have access to, the talents that I have.... I never really prayed to receive any of these things. But my Master has carefully designed each of the minutest details, even though I never asked."...With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.[Philipians 4:6]"

I'll end this note with the verse that I consider is the mantra of my life (atleast at the moment!!!)

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us [Ephesians 3:20]"

The Contemporary English Version Bible puts it like this,"... His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine"

You bet!! we wont even dare ask for the things that He has in mind for us. That is the heart of my Master.Only the best for His children-no compromises on that!!

I complained about the things I asked and never got, what about the thousands of miracles that happen everyday in my life., without me never asking for it?

Have I forgotten about that?