Esther Reading Plan – W3D3
Check out all the previous Esther readings here.
Esther Reading Plan | Week 3 | Day 3
Prayer
Take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. This helps you be more present and aware. Ask God to open your eyes to what He wants to teach you today from His Word.
Bible Reading: Psalm 13
Read these verses three times slowly.
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Reflection & Questions
In Esther 2, we saw that Esther grew up with broken dreams. In fact, as we read the Bible, we find almost every character dealt with hard times. The writer of Psalm 13 is certainly one of those. While it’s not clear the exact situation he is facing, what is clear is that God has felt absent and silent, and he is desperate. He writes, “How long will you hide your face from me” and “Look on me and answer”.
What we learn here is that pain and hurt is something to take to God. That’s what we do in relationships, and it’s no different with God. If we hide our pain or gloss over it, we actually may miss the deepening of our walk with God.
And if God feels absent or silent right now, take heart, He might be doing some of His most important work. When Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” God was actually in those hours doing the most important work ever in the universe: reconciling the world to himself.
- Are you burying or have you buried your hurt rather than take it to God? If so, why?
Prayer
Pray in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Prepare to Meet with Jesus
Go to your quiet place. When there are no devices around that will distract you, take a deep breath. Blow it out slowly. Do that again. And do it one last time. Ask God for His help to read and understand.
Bible Reading: Esther 2:10-11
Read these verses three times slowly.
Esther hadn’t told anyone who her people were. She hadn’t talked about her family. That’s because Mordecai had told her not to. Mordecai tried to find out how Esther was getting along. He wanted to know what was happening to her. So he walked back and forth near the courtyard by the place where the young women stayed. He did it every day.
Reflection & Questions
If you’ve ever been to camp or spent time away from home, you know that parents can get worried. Parents worry because they care about you. They want to know that you are safe and eating enough. They want to make sure the adults treat you right, and you’re not too sad.
Did Mordecai care about Esther? How can you tell? He showed how much he cared by checking on her every day. And Esther continued to obey Mordecai even though things had changed so much. She obeyed even when it meant hiding that she was Jewish.
Why would Mordecai want her to hide that she was Jewish? It was probably because he wanted her to be treated well. He feared that if people knew she was from Judah, they would not be as kind to her. Remember, they were living in a different country. Esther and Mordecai had learned how to live in Persia and wanted to be considered the same as everyone else.
Esther followed the Bible’s command to honor her father, Mordecai. Mordecai took very seriously his duty to care for Esther.
- What does it tell you about Esther that she continued to obey Mordecai?
- What does it tell you about Mordecai that he always checked on Esther?
Pray
Thank God for your family. Ask Him to help you honor your parents even when you do not want to obey. Ask Him to help you be more like Jesus every day.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
