Airbrushing God: A Devotion on the Book of EstherSýnishorn

Have you ever been trapped in a situation that was not of your own making? The search for the future queen was underway, and Hadassah, better known by her Persian name, Esther, was put forward, quickly becoming the star (translated Esther) of the show. She wins the favor of everyone she encounters – a sign of God’s blessing – yet this is far from ideal. Torn from her Jewish roots and packed off by her adoptive uncle with a one-way ticket to the king’s harem, with no chance of ever returning to her homeland. She is doubly exiled, entering the Miss Asia contest.

She had been ordered by her uncle to conceal her ethnic and religious identity amongst the other women, eating, acting, and dressing like a Persian so seamlessly that even the King was fooled. Unlike Daniel, she compromised by violating Jewish dietary laws and marrying a heathen king. This challenges us on the extent to which we should hide our faith. Are there times and places where concealing your Christian identity is the right thing to do? While proclaiming the good news is central to our mission, Jesus also reflected that our deeds would cause people to praise God (Matthew 5:16), and later warned us to be as wise as serpents (Matthew 10:16). Returning to Esther, it’s hard to see that she had any other choice given the circumstances.

And it worked. Esther won the contest and the heart of the king – an adopted Jewish girl crowned queen of the greatest empire in the world.

When things close in around us, our vision narrows, and it can be hard to see the wood for the trees. When you read through today's passage (Esther 2:7-18), set yourself the following challenge. Reach out to someone you trust to help you gain the bigger picture of what God might be doing in and through your life in this season.

What looks like a winding road to us is a straight line for God. Don’t wait for the future to be fully mapped out – just take a step at a time. To put it another way, the script might look convoluted and confusing, but be confident that there is a scriptwriter and director behind it who will help you navigate the plot twists to come.