Esther Reading Plan – W7D5
Check out all the previous Esther readings here.
Esther Reading Plan | Week 7 | Day 5
Prayer
As you come to spend time with Jesus, calm your mind and body until you feel fully present. Thank God that He is your protector and provider.
Bible Reading: Psalm 34:12-22
Read these verses three times slowly.
Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
Reflection & Questions
This week we are reflecting on the goodness of God in preserving Esther’s life when she goes before the king. Her fears were allayed. And yesterday, we read half of Psalm 34, where King David praises God for his deliverance. Today, we read the second half and the same confidence in God continues.
There’s a tenderness here in the description of God’s care. His “eyes… are on the righteous, and his ears attentive to their cry….the Lord hears them.” He is “close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
But this tenderness isn’t to be received lackadaisically. David says, “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” If we trust him with our lives, we no longer need to rely on our old sinful ways of trying to protect ourselves. He is our refuge and our strength.
- What phrase from the second half of Psalm 34 sticks out to you today? Why?
- Are you relying on sinful ways to protect yourself or on God? How do you know?
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 5:9-13
Read these verses three times slowly.
That day Haman was happy. So he left the palace in a good mood. But then he saw Mordecai at the palace gate. He noticed that Mordecai didn’t stand up when he walked by. In fact, Mordecai didn’t have any respect for him at all. So he was very angry with him. But Haman was able to control himself. He went on home.
Haman called together his friends and his wife Zeresh. He bragged to them about how rich he was. He talked about how many sons he had. He spoke about all the ways the king had honored him. He bragged about how the king had given him a high position. It was higher than the position of any of the other nobles and officials. “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to come with the king to the feast she gave. Now she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. But even all of that doesn’t satisfy me. I won’t be satisfied as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the palace gate.”
Reflection & Questions
Mordecai was feeling really great about his accomplishments. He bragged to his wife and all of his friends. However, his anger about Mordecai kept him from being satisfied. Even as the second most important person in all of Persia, he was very distracted by one person that would not bow to him.
Sometimes our lives are going really well. We may have friends and family who love us, plenty to eat, a comfortable place to live, and a great school that we attend. However, if one thing is not good, we can let it distract us. We can choose whether to focus on all of the good things in our lives or on all the bad things in our lives. It’s ok not to like bad situations, but we can choose to focus on the good and be grateful for what we have.
- What are some good things in your life that you can be thankful for?
- Have you ever been distracted by something difficult or bad in your life?
Pray
Ask God to help you be thankful for the good things in your life. Thank Him that He is always with you. Ask Him to help you to see all the good things every day.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
