Hello to anyone who reads my Monday Musings Devotionals! The next few weeks are going to be hectic as we count down to our middle sons graduation from high school! The calendar is full of end of school events and my head is full of all I need to do. Therefore, until June, I will be posting "reruns" of some of my favorite devotionals. I hope you will revisit these writings with me and they will bless you.
Future History by Belinda Kersey 1/2009
God’s Word
“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14
My Thoughts
Do you wonder why you are where you are right now? Do you question what God is doing? Does it seem there can’t possibly be a plan or a purpose? I know Esther must have felt that way when she was sent to the inner courts of the palace. On the surface it may look like she was living every little girl’s dream. The chance to be queen doesn’t come along every day. What woman wouldn’t revel in free beauty treatments for a year? It might sound like a dream come true for those of us who can’t even squeeze a spa day into our lives.
What we aren’t figuring into those fairy-tale visions is what lay at the end of those days of pampering. Those young, innocent girls were being pampered and plumped in preparation to spend the night with the King. A King who banished the previous queen for having a mind of her own. Don’t you know Esther was frightened out of her mind? And what if he didn’t like her? She would be cast aside and left unfit for marriage to another, relegated to the harem.
“We are who and where and what we are for now” is a profound line in Steven Curtis Chapman’s song that could have been spoken by Esther’s Uncle Mordecai. God created us “for now”, He placed us for this moment, this situation, this plan. But this moment isn’t the entire book of our lives. Whatever you are going through, you can be assured it won’t last, it will change. Our “for now” is not our complete destiny. Our real life is waiting on the other side of eternity. Esther’s “for now” wasn’t made for her pampering and pleasure but for the preservation and salvation of her people.
Our human nature is to want to see into the future so we can be prepared for what lies ahead or to have the ability to correct our mistakes before we make them. But Chapman says “We don’t have a time machine and even if we did would we really want to use it? Would we really want to go change everything?”. Amazingly, my heart agrees with him.
Yes, I have lived through difficult circumstances but through those times, God has taught me, He has used me and He has changed me for His glory. As a twenty year old, if I could look into the future and see the pain I would endure, I’m sure I would have done all within my power to create a different future for me and my family. But what would that have cost us? What growing and strengthening of faith would we have missed? What lessons would my children have failed to learn and grow from. Who would have lost out on eternity because we weren’t there to show the way?
The song says “There’s only One who knows what’s really out there waiting” and to Him “the future is history”. While we are here on this earth, living our little stories, the God of the universe has written the chapters of all time from beginning to end. Not only has he written the words, but He has had time to proof-read, re-read and sign his signature to the cover page. “All we need to know is He’s out there waiting”, and at the same time I know He’s right here living beside us, giving us the strength to make it to the last chapter of our earthly story so we can begin the rest of the story-the part that really matters, our heavenly destiny.
Your Response
Let God know you trust Him with your “now” and with your future. Tell Him you need His strength to face whatever He has in store for you. Tell Him you are ready for such a time as this because you know He has written your story from beginning to end.
The Song
"Miracle of the Moment" Steven Curtis Chapman
Future History by Belinda Kersey 1/2009
God’s Word
“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14
My Thoughts
Do you wonder why you are where you are right now? Do you question what God is doing? Does it seem there can’t possibly be a plan or a purpose? I know Esther must have felt that way when she was sent to the inner courts of the palace. On the surface it may look like she was living every little girl’s dream. The chance to be queen doesn’t come along every day. What woman wouldn’t revel in free beauty treatments for a year? It might sound like a dream come true for those of us who can’t even squeeze a spa day into our lives.
What we aren’t figuring into those fairy-tale visions is what lay at the end of those days of pampering. Those young, innocent girls were being pampered and plumped in preparation to spend the night with the King. A King who banished the previous queen for having a mind of her own. Don’t you know Esther was frightened out of her mind? And what if he didn’t like her? She would be cast aside and left unfit for marriage to another, relegated to the harem.
“We are who and where and what we are for now” is a profound line in Steven Curtis Chapman’s song that could have been spoken by Esther’s Uncle Mordecai. God created us “for now”, He placed us for this moment, this situation, this plan. But this moment isn’t the entire book of our lives. Whatever you are going through, you can be assured it won’t last, it will change. Our “for now” is not our complete destiny. Our real life is waiting on the other side of eternity. Esther’s “for now” wasn’t made for her pampering and pleasure but for the preservation and salvation of her people.
Our human nature is to want to see into the future so we can be prepared for what lies ahead or to have the ability to correct our mistakes before we make them. But Chapman says “We don’t have a time machine and even if we did would we really want to use it? Would we really want to go change everything?”. Amazingly, my heart agrees with him.
Yes, I have lived through difficult circumstances but through those times, God has taught me, He has used me and He has changed me for His glory. As a twenty year old, if I could look into the future and see the pain I would endure, I’m sure I would have done all within my power to create a different future for me and my family. But what would that have cost us? What growing and strengthening of faith would we have missed? What lessons would my children have failed to learn and grow from. Who would have lost out on eternity because we weren’t there to show the way?
The song says “There’s only One who knows what’s really out there waiting” and to Him “the future is history”. While we are here on this earth, living our little stories, the God of the universe has written the chapters of all time from beginning to end. Not only has he written the words, but He has had time to proof-read, re-read and sign his signature to the cover page. “All we need to know is He’s out there waiting”, and at the same time I know He’s right here living beside us, giving us the strength to make it to the last chapter of our earthly story so we can begin the rest of the story-the part that really matters, our heavenly destiny.
Your Response
Let God know you trust Him with your “now” and with your future. Tell Him you need His strength to face whatever He has in store for you. Tell Him you are ready for such a time as this because you know He has written your story from beginning to end.
The Song
"Miracle of the Moment" Steven Curtis Chapman
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