INVISIBLE, BUT NOT ABSENT

Esther 2:15 “Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her.”

Esther is the story of how God used one woman to change the fate of an entire nation. As I read through the book, I discovered that the book of Esther is the only book out the 66 books of the bible where God is never named. In fact, a lot of people over the years didn’t think it should even be included as one of the books of the bible for that reason.

But I disagree. Because even if you can’t exactly find God’s name, you can find his fingerprints on every page. In the book of Esther, we find God working through the lives of 5 people to carry out his will. Even though he’s invisible… he isn’t absent. In fact, that’s really the theme of the entire book. “God’s invisible… but he isn’t absent.” And if you could just remember that, it would help you make it through life a lot easier. Even though we can’t see him, God’s working in our lives to carry out his will. Guiding us. Directing us. Leading us, most of the time without us even knowing it.

From my puny perspective, I can only see today and yesterday (even then I have trouble). But God can see tomorrow. Our hindsight is almost 20/20, so we’re great at history, but we stink at prophecy. I have no clue what’s going to happen in the next minute, let alone the next week. But God doesn’t have any problem seeing what’s coming. Augustine put it this way, “Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence”.

The word “providence” actually comes from 2 Latin words, "Pro" which means "before;" and "Video" which means "to see." So, providence means "to see before." In other words, God sees beforehand and plans accordingly. When we talk about the providence of God, we’re talking about God’s ability to see what’s going to happen, before it happens and adjust his plans to deal with it.

God’s never caught by surprise. He never says, “Whoa! I didn’t see that one coming!” While we have no idea what’s going to happen next, our invisible God is continually, constantly, confidently working behind the scenes to work his plans. We’re down here going crazy, screaming at God, and asking “What do you think you’re doing?” Why’d you allow that to happen? But he knows exactly what he’s doing. He blesses us and we praise him for his incredible timing, but when he tests us, we squirm and question his intelligence.

Like back-seat drivers, we’re crying out…“God! Watch out for that oncoming truck! Whoa! Here comes a stop sign. While he’s got his hand on the wheel, he’s perfectly calm weaving through traffic with the greatest of ease. In the midst of all the chaos of our lives, he knows what he’s doing. We’re tempted to take the steering wheel, but the minute we do, we crash.

God placed Esther in the right place at the right time to carry out his will and his plan for the salvation of his people. Mordecai knew that, and Esther learned it. The same holds true for us. God has us in the right place at the right time to serve him and bring about the fulfillment of his will. It’s not coincidental that you work where you do. It’s not fate that you live in the neighborhood you live in. Your life, your relationships, your job, your friends, your “everything” is not just dumb-luck. It’s providence.