Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Are you held back by "learned helplessness?" Esther 1-5

Esther 4:9-12
Hathach came back and related Mordecai’s words to Esther. Then Esther spoke to Hathach and ordered him to reply to Mordecai: “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.” They related Esther’s words to Mordecai.

Many times in Scripture we come across an example of someone who is holding to an "assumed constraint" that they believe prevents them from doing something for God.   Moses, when he was told to lead the people out of Egypt, thought his in ability to speak clearly was a constraint that would prevent him from doing the job God gave him.   In Jesus' day the people thought Jesus was just a carpenter's son and therefore he could not be the Messiah and, therefore, in their midst Jesus didn't do many miracles.   These were "assumptions" that they believe "constrained" them from experiencing God's glory and power.   In the above passage we see that Esther, too, is held back, initially, by an assumed constraint.  One of the kings servants, Hamman, had convinced the king to allow him to kill all the Jews.   Mordecai sent a message to Esther, asking her, as the Queen, to go to the king and plea for him, her and the rest of the Jews.   But, as the above text states, Esther was constrained because the command of the king was that if anyone just walked into the kings room, without being requested by the king, would be killed.   Mordecai will eventually implore Esther to find a way around her "assumed constraint."   When Esther initially saw the problem she was limited in her thought process because she looked at the issue through the eyes of the flesh.   When we look a problem through the eyes of the flesh we often find ourselves constrained.   It is only through the eyes of faith that we can find a way through these assumed constraints.  To the world they ARE constraints.  To the believer, a mustard seed of faith can move a mountain of problems.   In the will of God we have no constraints.   Our assumed constraints are founded by faithless fears.   We believe we can't do something because we are thinking WE should be able to do something.  But, we can't do anything.  It is God working in us that makes us able to overcome these learned helplessness of assumed constraints.  

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