Esther
Part 5
"Not Enough Ink"
Many people with whom I share the story of Esther are surprised to learn that God is never directly mentioned in this portion of Scripture. Most of these folks have read Esther, but they missed the fact that the Holy Spirit did not lead the writer to overtly mention the Lord. I never share the passage in a service without seeing surprised looks when I mention that a blessed portion of God's Book omits reference to God's Person.
"Verily Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, o God of Israel, the Savior" (Isaiah 45:15).
Of course, the Lord doesn't always hide Himself, and for those with eyes to see, His glory fills all things. However, we presently live in a dispensation wherein "we walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7). This would not be possible if our Lord too plainly revealed Himself. Thus, all believers must have times when a veil seems to hinder our view of the Lord's involved heart and hand. In such a time, the Psalmist cried to his Lord, "Why hidest Thou Thyself in times of trouble?" (Psalm 10:1). The truth is that God allows it to seem as if He is not near even though He forever abides as "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). We presently need times when we feel alone. Such difficult episodes provide opportunity to exercise the faith to believe in the unseen, unheard, unfelt fact of our Lord's eternally abiding presence both with and within us. This strengthens our spiritual sinews, as it were, and also greatly honors God by revealing that He is worthy to be trusted even if He seems a million miles away. "Thou He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15).
Read Esther a hundred times. You'll never find a direct mention of God. Read it once with a humble, trusting heart, and you'll discover it to be one of the most God-saturated portions of the Bible. A beautiful spiritual lesson shines forth in this glorious story inspired by an even more glorious Lord. In the lives of his trusting children, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ forever abides nearer than our next breath. If we can't seem to find Him on the pages of our lives, the book of Esther proclaims that the Lord is present and actively involved nevertheless. "The Light shineth in darkness" declared the Apostle John (John 1:5). It also shines on pages where appearances might indicate that God is absent, but where reality reveals there is not enough ink in the world to tell of His doings.
"God… worketh all things after counsel of His own will."
(Ephesians 1:11)
Weekly Memory Verse
Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.
(John 6:35)