When God Feels Far Awayনমুনা

Day Two: Trusting in God’s Providence

Building upon the foundation of faith in Jesus, a further kind of faith is needed and shown in the story of Esther. This is a faith in the providence of God. Before we define providence, let’s review the book of Esther. The story involves four main players:

• Ahasuerus, the king of Persia

• Haman, the king’s second-in-command

• Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman orphaned as a child

• Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and caretaker

It’s late in the Old Testament period, and Esther and many of her fellow Israelites are living in exile. The cultural setting combined with being far away from their spiritual home has caused God’s people to feel distant from Him.

There comes a point in the story when the book’s primary theme passage comes into focus. Mordecai responds to Esther’s wanting to throw in the towel, saying, “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Let’s not miss what’s going on here. Mordecai conveys to Esther that God, who’s never mentioned by name in the story, will provide deliverance for the Jews. “Relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place.”

From where? From what place?

The history of the Jewish people screams to them at this moment, “God’s place!” God will come through! Mordecai tells Esther to believe and trust in that promise. Though God was seemingly far away and felt as distant, He could be trusted here.

This single verse in Esther, veiled as it is, points to God. This verse points to the attribute of God called providence. He’s the one in ultimate control of things. Mordecai was supremely confident of this. God would not let His people down. And Esther needed to place her faith fully and squarely in the providence of God. Trusting God would be the key to her people being saved. Further, this specific kind of faith—faith in the providence of God—would be the foundation for navigating the divine distance they all felt.

How have you seen God’s provision over the course of your life? How has that provision been independent of anything you have done?