Living in the Spirit
September 22, 2015

Scripture Reading: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor. –Esther 9:20-22

Purim is the name given to this celebration of the saving of the people from their enemies. It remains one of the holy days of the Jewish religion celebrated with great joy and revelry. Reading about it made me wonder how much we acknowledge and celebrate the daily gifts that God provides for us. Do we have any dates that when they arrive bring about memories of God’s blessing in our lives? July 18 is the date I went to work as a social worker, starting practicing my chosen career, and I do remember that each year. I have a lot of help though because it is also one of my grandmother’s birthdays and the year was 1969. My career started two days before man first walked on the moon. Thus the nightly news often jogs my memory.

Recently it occurred to me that something for which I had been praying for years had actually come to fruition. While I have express my thanksgiving to God for such a gift, I had not before made the connection to my past prayers. God works God’s purpose out perhaps not on our timeline.

Isaiah 40:31 says: but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Prayer: Lord, when I get weary and in doubt of your justice ever being realized throughout the earth renew my strength and enable me to stay the course. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.