The passage in Esther 8:13-17 shows how God can perform a miracle through a mere woman. The King initially wanted to wipe out the Jewish people, but Queen Esther dared to plead with the King and request him to change his mind as mentioned in verse 5, thus changing the history of her people.
Not only this rescued her people, but the fear of the Lord also fell upon the Persian empire that many people started to convert to Judaism itself.
Comparatively, the church is likened to the bride of Christ, and a mere woman at a Church also can change history if she pleases the King of glory, finds favor in the King’s sight, and does right by Him, then the King would grant the woman’s request and change her history.
Even though worldwide revival or changing the current governmental system may seem almost impossible, that is how the scripture should be fulfilled. Nonetheless, revival at a Church that begins on a personal level is doable.
It can even involve revival in a local community or a city that we live in.
Impossibilities Could Be Reversed
Esther 8:7-8: “Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.”
Even though it may seem like Haman made an irreversible Persian law that the Jews would be exterminated. Nevertheless, with Esther’s faith in the power of God, she managed to turn things around. Similarly, in current times, we may perceive many situations to have already been fixated or predetermined, but we know God can reverse the impossible. If only we pray fervently to God and walk right with Him.
James 5:16-18: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. “
In the case of Elijah, we witness in the Bible another time where the impossible could happen through the power of prayers.
We need to understand that we are His children, and our prayers to Him are equivalent to a kid bugging his/her parent for candies. So the effect of a group of kids bugging their parents would be more powerful as compared to a single kid doing so. The same goes for our prayer, a sincere group prayer will easily triumph over the power of just us praying alone.
Apart from sincere prayers, we should also seek the power that comes with humility.
Luke 14:11: “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
1 Peter 5:6: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”
God empowers and lifts those who keep putting themselves down. As Bible believers, are we willing to take lowly means to street preach, spread the gospel, take in lowly criticism, and accept low results? These are simple ways for us to assess our level of humility.
God can only exalt us when we are humble when we are willing to go through lowliness.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10: “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
We cannot powerfully achieve the impossible if we don’t go through suffering. How can God use us if we always live in vanity and comfort, having everything in life planned out for us? If we want God to use us for His glory powerfully, then we need to suffer for His sake. This is His promise to us because great blessings from on high cannot come without a great price and sacrifice.
Let’s also remember that the strength of our testimony comes from how much suffering we go through in life. A comfortable life gives a boring and powerless testimony.
The best example of testimony till today is Jesus Christ Himself; who manifested His power of love behind pain and suffering.
Immensities Would Be Reached
Esther 8:13-14: “The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.”
We see how Esther found favor; to the extent so many of her people were reached and saved. This comes to show if we truly serve God with fervency, God’s immense power will work in us through the Holy Spirit within us. We are reminded not to let our sword becomes thoroughly corroded by rust.
Ephesians 5:14: “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
This encourages us to contribute to the ministry as a group because if we were to work together, then the fruits that we produce will multiply.
Isaiah 6:8: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
We should be the person who is never content in just being a bench warmer at the church. We are called for a bigger purpose, and we should be using God’s given talent to produce immense results. The Bible does teach us about contentment and not to be greedy, but the only thing that we should not be contented, is our zealousness for the Lord, and our willingness to do more for Him. We know not all of us are called to preach, but we all have our talent that we can use to serve the Lord.
Mark 16:15: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
God says to preach the gospel to everyone. We should not be selective because everyone needs and deserves to be saved. That is the will of God.
Improvements Would Be Revealed
Esther 8:17: “And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.”
Let’s look at the vast improvement in these people, as Esther converted such a great mass of people in the land.
Deuteronomy 11:26-28: “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”
This passage shows that God always puts before us a blessing and curse, and we are free to choose between the two. By simply following His law, then we will be blessed, and we will be cursed if we go against the law, simple as that.
This applies to our church today. If everyone decides to sin less and becomes a clean vessel, the Holy Spirit has more void to fill us up and leads to immense improvement in the church.
We need to know that our sins are like cracks on the vessel, so if we continue to sin against God, the Holy Spirit cannot fill us up because of the leakage through the cracks.
Psalm 119:14: “I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.”
God’s testimonies and blessings are filled with riches. That is why David can rejoice.
Conversely, if we are always filled with misery and despair, it just comes to show that we are not walking right with God. God’s grace and blessing can bring joy and peace in us, even amid our trials and afflictions. Imagine how much the church will improve if everyone in the church is filled with joy and happiness.
What if everyone in the church bore their mark proudly for Jesus Christ?
What if all of God’s people stood on His promises and rejoiced no matter how difficult life is? Then maybe we can finally see how God answers more of our prayers.
It is almost impossible for such a Church to crumble, and as a matter of fact, such a church can bring glory to God.
We can change or create history through the power of God. All it requires is a strong faith, prayer, and followed by action that glorifies our Heavenly Father.