{"product_id":"guidebook-17-esther","title":"Guidebook: [17] Esther","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDid you know Esther is the only book in the Bible that never explicitly mentions God by name? It is unlike any other book in the Bible in this way..\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere is no prophet explaining what He is doing, no obvious miracle, no voice or sign from heaven. Instead, there is a forgotten act of loyalty, a delayed banquet, an irreversible decree, one sleepless king.. and one record pulled at exactly the right time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNothing looks miraculous by itself. But step back and look at the whole story, and it becomes one of the clearest illustrations of how God is often at work in our lives long before we recognize it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThat is my biggest takeaway from Esther, and a revelation deeply personal to me.. because it came shortly after becoming a Christian..and that is that God is at work in every moment we live and breathe. He is present even in circumstances we do not understand yet, and He is able to work all of it for our good. And if it is not good.. it is not over.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI think we are constantly tempted to interpret God based on the tiny portion of the story we can see.. A prayer goes unanswered, so we decide He is silent. Something falls apart, so we assume He was never in it. A door closes. A delay makes no sense.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut Esther teaches us the opposite. It shows how God is hidden throughout the entire book, and yet He is not absent for a second.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSometimes what looks like delay is timing. Sometimes what looks forgotten is being preserved for later. Sometimes what looks random only looks that way because you are standing too close to the page to see the whole picture.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSo maybe before we conclude that God has forgotten us, abandoned us, or stopped working.. we should have a little more faith, and be more careful about rendering a verdict on a story He has not finished writing yet.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBecause like I said.. if the ending isn’t good, the story isn’t over. ❤️✝️\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca class=\"x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x1ejq31n x18oe1m7 x1sy0etr xstzfhl x972fbf x10w94by x1qhh985 x14e42zd x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 x3ct3a4 xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak xexx8yu xyri2b x18d9i69 x1c1uobl x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz  _aa9_ _a6hd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/explore\/tags\/bookofesther\/\" role=\"link\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e#BookOfEsther\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca class=\"x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x1ejq31n x18oe1m7 x1sy0etr xstzfhl x972fbf x10w94by x1qhh985 x14e42zd x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 x3ct3a4 xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak xexx8yu xyri2b x18d9i69 x1c1uobl x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz  _aa9_ _a6hd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/explore\/tags\/biblestudy\/\" role=\"link\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e#BibleStudy\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca class=\"x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x1ejq31n x18oe1m7 x1sy0etr xstzfhl x972fbf x10w94by x1qhh985 x14e42zd x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 x3ct3a4 xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak xexx8yu xyri2b x18d9i69 x1c1uobl x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz  _aa9_ _a6hd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/explore\/tags\/biblicalprovidence\/\" role=\"link\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e#BiblicalProvidence\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca class=\"x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x1ejq31n x18oe1m7 x1sy0etr xstzfhl x972fbf x10w94by x1qhh985 x14e42zd x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 x3ct3a4 xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak xexx8yu xyri2b x18d9i69 x1c1uobl x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz  _aa9_ _a6hd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/explore\/tags\/christianfaith\/\" role=\"link\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e#ChristianFaith\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca class=\"x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x1ejq31n x18oe1m7 x1sy0etr xstzfhl x972fbf x10w94by x1qhh985 x14e42zd x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 x3ct3a4 xdj266r x14z9mp xat24cr x1lziwak xexx8yu xyri2b x18d9i69 x1c1uobl x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz  _aa9_ _a6hd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/explore\/tags\/bibleguidebook\/\" role=\"link\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e#BibleGuidebook\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Controversial.Christian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50370005336278,"sku":null,"price":1.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0819\/7963\/7974\/files\/1_fe202990-62d3-4822-ba27-82d517dab638.jpg?v=1788649880","url":"https:\/\/controversial-christian.myshopify.com\/products\/guidebook-17-esther","provider":"Controversial.Christian","version":"1.0","type":"link"}