Wrap Yourself in Joy Podcast

Esther & Turnaround JOY # 1 – The Backdrop & the Party: Turnarounds for Your Life

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Turnarounds for Your Life

Do You Need Turnarounds in Your Life? Are you struggling to find faith and courage? Esther will show you how. Join me in our new series starting today based on the Book of Esther.  It’s a  wonderful study for Lent.  It is about trusting in God, interceding in prayer, and receiving strength to stand firm amid Life’s challenges. It is about gentle leadership, discernment, and how God give can give you reversals in situations and relationships. Esther is a book of faith, hope and joy!

This is the Time

Welcome to Esther & Turnaround Joy Episode #1 based on my book Esther For Such a Time As This: Prayer, Reversals and JOY.  Just when we wonder, “Where is God in our lives or our families or our communities,” Esther reminds us that God never abandons us. He is faithful. If you have never read or studied Esther before, now is a goodtime to start. You cannot depend on movies depicting Esther because some are more fictional than historically accurate. You will gain so much more by reading it yourself as the lessons from Esther are so encouraging. And of course, there is a JOYFUL ending. Today we will cover these points:

The Backdrop for Esther (Esther 1: 1-3)
  • In the days of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:1) refers to the reign of King Ahasuerus  who historically ruled the world as King of the Persian Empire from 486 to 465 BC. In Greek, his name was Xerxes.
  • The Persians led by Cyrus the Great, the grandfather of Ahasuerus, had defeated the Babylonian Empire of King Nebuchadnezzar, who had taken the Jewish people captive to Babylon beginning in 605 BC. Cyrus the Great had a relaxed attitude toward the Jewish people and allowed them to return to Jerusalem or move to other places. Some went back to Jerusalem. Some scattered throughout Europe. Some stayed in Persia and learned to fit into its culture. This is where we meet Esther.
    • The Lavish Party (Esther 1: 4-8)
    • King Ahasuerus resided in Susa—one of the three royal cities in the Persian.
  • He threw the lavish party, mostly to inspire patriotism and show off his wealth and splendor to his military leaders so they would give him support for going to war against Greece as history tells us.
  • An old tradition stated that only as the king drank could the rest of the party drink, but at his party, all were instructed to drink freely. The golden goblets used for serving the wine may very well have been the sacred goblets seized from the Jewish temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC (see Daniel 1). Now, they were being used in a very unholy way, by a very pagan king!
    • Personal Reflection.
    • King Ahasuerus was trying to make himself a god in power, prestige and more.
  • He did not know or refused to acknowledge the truth that God loves us dearly but as Proverbs 15:3 points out: “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good” or Hebrews 4:13, saying: “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
  • So my questions for reflection today are:
    • Do you wonder where God is when you see the world focused on self-image, power and prestige?
  • Do you get discouraged when it appears God is silent about all the evil in the world?
  • When God seems silent, do you turn your attention to the party—that is to the worldly distractions that can take you away from God, faith and family?
    • Prayer Response
    1. Read and pray with Psalm 103: 15-22. Try to memorize the verse that speaks most to you.
  • Seek God. When you think he is silent as the world parties on, open yourself more to God. Remember only God our heavenly Father, Jesus our Savior and the Holy Spirit can offer you the true Joy, Peace, Love, and Fulfillment that the world is seeking as epitomized by King Ahasuerus. When you are lonely and confused or frustrated, talk to Jesus from your heart.  Ask Him for what you need. Remember Jesus’ words in John 15: 11: As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.   (You may want to listen to my podcast season #1 series, Finding JOY.)
    • You can download Bookmarks from this podcast series at my website: WRAPyourselfinJOY.com.
  • Check out more podcasts here!
  • Click here to find the book: Esther For Such a Time As This: Prayer, Reversals and JOY

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    The post Esther & Turnaround JOY # 1 – The Backdrop & the Party: Turnarounds for Your Life appeared first on Ultimate Christian Podcast Radio Network.

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    Wrap Yourself in Joy PodcastBy Karen Dwyer