In the past few days we were accompanied in our Lenten Journey by King David. Today we have the privilege of being joined by a queen. Queen Esther will be joining us as we begin Holy Week. Esther is another woman of courage from the Old Testament who lived approximately 500 years before Christ. Her story is so important that just like Ruth, she has her own book in the Bible.
Queen Esther-Part I
Esther, a Jewish orphan, is chosen to be queen because of her outer beauty. She lived in Persia so she hides her Jewish identity from the King. While being queen, she finds out that there is a plot to kill all the Jews. She needs to approach the King but she is afraid because she doesn't know how the King will react if she reveals that she herself is a Jew.
Before she approaches the King, she goes through a time of fasting. She is well aware that she needs God's favour if she is to be successful when she approaches the King. Fasting tends to bring us closer to God. Even Jesus spent 40 days of fasting in preparation for what He knew was coming. While we fast and do sacrifice, God refines our character and prepares us to accept His plan for our life.
That is the main reason why the Church asks us to observe 40 days of abstinence and fasting during Lent. Many people think this is a pointless exercise. I have been abstaining from eating meat on Fridays. But this past Friday the only thing I had for lunch was leftover chicken from the previous day. My first intention was just to warm up the rice, beans and plantains and leave the chicken. But the chicken looked so yummy and I was so hungry, that I looked up to heaven and said, "You don't mind, right? I've been good every Friday, what difference will it make if I eat chicken today?" Well, apparently, He did mind. I prepared my plate, put it inside the microwave for a minute and a half and went to the restroom. When I came back, the microwave was still on and I heard popping noises. The window that shows the timer is not working very well and I must have pressed a 1 too many and put it for 11 minutes instead. When I took it out, the chicken had desintegrated, literally. Only the bones were left. The rice and beans felt like plastic and the plantains were so hard they looked more like plantain chips. I guess God taught me a lesson. He didn't want me to give up my sacrifice in the last Friday before Holy Week and He knew that if I ate the chicken, I was going to feel guilty afterwards. I still had more rice and beans so that was my lunch. And I felt better afterwards because I felt closer to God.
Tomorrow we will learn how the King reacts when Esther approaches him.
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