The book of Esther largely centers around a very personal series of events that revolve around four people. Because of this, it can be easy to forget just how large of a problem the book actually records. We understand, conceptually, that Haman was trying to wipe out an entire people, but if we never look beyond Mordecai and Esther, we may have trouble remembering that the lives of many thousands, if not more, of people spread across the middle east were on the line. And when we we lose sight of that, we can miss how massive Haman's pride actually is.

Listen, God protects His people, He always has, at least so far as to ensure that there is never a time since Abraham when He was lacking a people. There is a whole lesson that can be drawn about God's faithfulness to Israel from the book of Esther, and it is rightfully drawn frequently; but for right now, consider that there is also a lesson about how deeply God hates selfish pride.

This goes all the way back. In pride, Adam and Eve sought to take for themselves the power to be like God on their own terms, and the world still reverberates with the condemnation of that action. When the people sought to built their own path to God and rise up to the heavens under their own power, they were struck and scattered and cursed to never fully understand each other. In the end, those who were too proud to recognize their need of Christ will be laid low for all eternity. God is serious about breaking our pride. Paul recognized this when he said:

We may think that pride is a personal matter, a problem that should be handled, sure, but is ultimately between us and God. It's not like one of those other sins, like murder or theft, that hurt people, after all. But Haman's blood testifies against us on this delusion. Haman's pride caused him to grow so hateful toward Mordecai that he sought to eradicate an entire race of people. The folly of his pride was shown when it was turned around on him, when it forced him to show Mordecai an honor that he coveted for himself. His pride drove him to not only build a gallows for a man who had done him no wrong, but to build it fifty cubits high, so everyone could see the glory of his victory over the man who stood at the gate of the king; and it was his pride that hung him there in disgrace, instead.

Oh, let us never forget the lesson from Haman about our pride. God will not tolerate it, and the higher we strive to be, the lower He will surely bring us down. Like Jesus, who laid aside His great riches and glory to save a world that did not deserve Him, let us ever esteem others over ourselves and seek to glorify the God who works in us rather than ourselves.

Oh, the deep joy we draw from Romans 8:28. Well, the first part, anyway. "All things work together for good for those who love God," we will repeat, through every hardship and every period of confusion. We invoke these words as an absolute statement, but it isn't even a complete thought. How often we leave off not only the end of that sentence, but the description given after about what that good actually is!

A whole post could be written just on what is meant by "called according His purpose," but let's focus on defining the good being promised. What do we think the good promised to us is? I was told once that there was concern that I was not on the path God actually had for me, because the speaker expected it would be a good bit easier for me if I was. "We walk in the steps of martyrs," I replied, "what ease are you expecting?" When we hear that God has good for us, do we think it will be wealth or comfort or ease? But the proverb says:

The author has a minimum, which is basically just that God meet their basic needs, but note where the priority lies. Asking for good things, for basic needs and freedom from deception, are not ends in themselves; if they were, there would be no cap on them. The focus is on glorifying God. The author is calling out to God to give enough that they can glorify God, but not so much that they fail to give God the proper glory. The ultimate good being requested isn't the material goods or even the freedom from deception, but the glory of God. And how many of the Psalms have the same message?

The whole psalm, David is crying out for salvation from enemies, for help in his time of need, but at the end he clarifies that this isn't just something he's asking for his own comfort. The desire behind asking for deliverance is that God's glory would be shown in how He handles the situation.

The good promised by God, like that sought after by the writers of Proverbs and Psalms, is to glorify God. And we most glorify Him when we can reflect Him to the world around us. The good God promises is that we will grow, and develop more and more in our walk with Christ, that we will enter into glory in the end. But this is a painful promise to fulfill. Paul, the man through whom God delivered this promise, could also honestly state that:

Paul not only endures, but praises, the trials God has brought Him through. Not because going through these things shows him to be a better Christian or a more devout follower. Paul is not praising the pains he has endured or his ability to endure it. He is praising the God who has brought him through it and taking joy in the way God has used these pains to conform him ever more to the image of Christ. Do we think any good greater than the glory of God? Do we think our growth must be easier than it is for other Christians?

I find myself unable to accept the doctrine of a Pre-Tribulation rapture. I used to hold to it, when I was a kid and attended a church where it was a given, but when I set out to start testing my beliefs this one fell away pretty quickly. My abandonment of that doctrine was heavily influenced by disagreements with my peers about whether or not it appears in scripture, but even beyond that, I find it inconsistent with the character of the God that makes Himself known throughout the Bible.

My wife and I spent much of our morning looking into some missions agencies, and one of them included a certain view of Dispensationalism in their statement of faith. After this, I did my daily reading, and found myself reminded of the character traits that gave me pause about the whole affair to begin with. Apparently this was going to be a theme today.

God is not in the habit of removing His people from trouble anywhere else in scripture. Noah had protection, but went through the same flood everyone else did. The Hebrew people did not leave Egypt until God was done judging it. The prophets received the full weight of the people's rejection, and persecution has never fully been absent from the global church.

Jesus promises His people that they will have trouble. God never promises to remove us from trouble, but rather that He will be with us through it. Too often, we try to find rest in the idea that God will eventually fix things, that He will eventually remove us from our circumstances. And while it is true that God will restore all things in the end, that He is victorious over all our troubles and will someday set all things right, that is not our primary source of hope. Our hope is that God is with us, now, and will be through any trial and tribulation we face. Not only do we have the promise that troubles will come, and that He will be with us through those troubles, but we have clear statements that God is most glorified in these times and will use them to help us grow in our walk with Him. When we seek an escape rather than the growth waiting for us, we miss the point of our trials entirely and mistake the purpose God has for trouble.

Consider the book of Esther. We tend to note that it is unique among Biblical texts in that it never overtly mentions God, but talk less often about how God is pervasive throughout the entire story. He is there the whole time, placing His people at key places, protecting His chosen agents, answering prayer. Esther herself recognizes her dependence on God by asking the people to fast and pray for her before she takes any action. She is constantly in communication with her people and leaning on God to bring her through.

Our hope in tribulations doesn't need to lie in some idea that God will remove us before it gets worse. Because even when we don't see God, even when He is not overt, we know that He has promised to never leave us. Our hope is in the God who is here, now, and will continue to be here even when the worst days come.