This morning I received some sweet words from Jesus and I wanted to take a minute and share them with you! I've been reading through parts of the Old Testament and today I started Esther…
Quick non-scholarly summary: In the first 2 chapters we learn that King Xerxes is on the search for a new wife. Naturally he sends out a memo to everyone he knows and has women sent to him from all over the place. The women come and spend a year getting beautifuied enough to meet the king. Then they meet him one by one and he get's a little trial run with each of them before he decides which one he wants to take as queen. Esther is one of these girls.
Sidenotes: Ok, first of all, who spends a year getting ready to meet someone? I mean, i've spent a good 3 hours getting ready for a date before but even that might have been a little extreme. Second, can you imagine if that's what dating and finding a spouse was like? Blows my mind.
Back to the story: So the girls would all go spend their time with the king, and then go back to the harem. "She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name." Esther 2:14. Reading this line triggered something in my memory and it took me a sec to figure out what it was. Summoned her by name. Summoned her by name? And then it clicked.
"Fear not for I have redeemmed you; I have summoned you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1
I've always loved that verse becasue I love the phrase 'summoned by name.' It's so different than just 'called by name'… you call someone by name when you're yelling for them to come to dinner. You summon someone when it is for something with a purpose. All of that I kind of made up in my head, but looking up the definition for 'summon(ed),' I found out one of the uses is "to call upon for specefied action."
In Esther's case, Xerxes chose her, summoned her, and she became queen. Though it happened in a crazy way the Lord definitely had a plan and used Esther for very specefic purposes. There's way more to the story but I won't spoil it for you… read the rest of Esther to find out!
In Isaiah, God is speaking to Israel when He says those words. The verse carries so much power and affirmation for me. After reading about Esther I'm getting even more out of them. It's the Lord – my actual king, not an earthly king – saying that he has redeemmed me. He has summoned me by name. I am his. He has called upon me for specefied actions. There is no reason for fear because God will not leave my side. I am His, and I am safe.
These words brought such assurance and encouragement to me this morning and I hope they will do the same for you. Read Isaiah 43:1 and believe it to be true about yourself. The Lord has redeemed YOU. He has summoned YOU. YOU are his.
Have a fantastic Jesus filled day!
