May 23, 2021

336 You Have Come For Such a Time As This, A Guided Christian Meditation on Esther 4:12-14 with the Recenter With Christ app

I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God.  By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina:

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.

Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing.  If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.
 
Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:

Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Bible verses for Meditation:

ESV
12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

NRSV
12 When they told Mordecai what Esther had said, 13 Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”

Meditation on Scripture:

The context of this scripture is important. In the account, Esther was born as a Jew yet that identity was hidden. The Isralite name of Hadassah was not used and instead she was called Esther. The King was looking for a new wife after his last wife had been insubordinate. Esther could have seen her role as a one of random chance or divine guidance. When Haman attempted to kill the Jews, Esther risked her own life to appear before the king without an invitation. She rejected a life of comfort for the greater good. 

When we as Believers in the God of heaven, think that challenges in our lives are unfair interruptions in what should be a smooth life, it demonstrates that we dont understand God’s plan. When we suppose that things in life should be smooth, we discount the role of Christ who took upon him suffering for our sake. When we feel that we have not been dealt with fairly, we miss the fact that it is mercy that we are not treated as we deserve, because each of us fall short of the perfection that would be demanded by a perfect God. 

Redemption, and life itself is not meant to smooth out unneeded bumps on the road back to comfortable glory. Our lives are not meant to be smooth progress toward an eventuality of heavenly life with God, rather they are meant to be a refiner’s fire of challenges to prepare us for a future we don’t deserve but that has been offered through God’s grace. Jesus said take up our cross and follow Him. You were born with the available resources to bear the weight of the burdens you carry. You were never meant to do it alone. 

Meditation of Prayer:

Pray as directed by the Spirit.

Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.

Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:

I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials.

Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:
This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast

Updates: 

Final Question: How has God strengthened you in the middle of your struggle?

Final Thought: God’s plan was meant to try us and to push us to rely on Him. 

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