Looking to the life of Esther in the Bible, GDA Upper Grade student, Destiny, shares how we can trust God to give us peace during Opening Ceremonies.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit
In every season of my life, I have found myself learning how to obtain a specific fruit of the spirit. I feel as though I have already gone through a season of learning about love, joy, and kindness, but this season is for peace. That is what I would like to talk to you about this morning. Let us discuss the importance of peace, especially during a certain time. This time I mentioned, is what I will be referring to as the preparation period.
A Time to Prepare
A preparation period is the time in which God is preparing you for the plan in your life. Things are changing in the environment surrounding you and your heart. As a senior this is extremely relevant to me because I am just about to leave a place of comfort. This means new relationships, possibly traveling far from Missouri, and along with that also comes some relationships that will either struggle or cease to exist altogether. While maybe not in the same form, I am sure that everyone in this room is within the preparation period in some way. For most students being at GDA could be considered the preparation period because it is a time in which you are being prepared to experience the world as an adult.
Facing Fear and Control with Peace
There are two issues that might appear in this season and I have experienced both. The first is fearing the future because you can’t control everything, and the second is feeling as though you aren’t making a difference right now, because you haven’t reached the plan God has for you quite yet. Both of these issues can be solved by one thing. Peace.
Looking to the Life of Esther
You might be thinking, “how is this Biblical?” With that, I would like to introduce a story of a woman who became queen. This is the story of Queen Esther. King Xerxes was married before Esther and ended up looking for a new queen. This is where Esther came into play. She was a Jewish woman and she did not mention this to the king as she had been instructed by the man who raised her, who was named Mordecai. In the end, she saved the Jewish people, but the question is how did she have the strength to do so? Yes, it was God, but was there a specific trait that He gave her? I would say yes. Esther experienced the preparation period.
Esther Had to Prepare
Within the first chapter of Esther we see King Xerxes who would eventually become her husband, call upon the woman who was the queen at the time. It is when she refused to come and see him that he began to seek a new queen. Let’s think about this for a second. If this had never happened then Esther would have never become queen. So what we can see is that God was preparing the kingdom for Esther. Meanwhile, he was preparing Esther for the kingdom. In chapter 4, Esther begins to move forward with a plan to save her people. In preparation to talk to the king about the Jews she fasted and accepted the possible consequence of death. In the midst of a deadly situation she found peace. If she hadn’t trusted God and put it in His hands then she would not have fulfilled God’s plan for her.
Complete Trust in God Leads to Peace
Within Esther 4:16 she says, “I will go to the king even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” This is an example of complete trust in God, when she gave up her worries and trusted God with this problem she found peace. Without peace she could have compromised God’s plan for her. Esther 4:14 says, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” While we are all in this preparation period it is important to recognize that this time is just as important as any other time. Without the preparation period, God’s plan for Esther’s life would have been very different.
Peace in the Waiting
When we ask God for peace we don’t have to worry about the future. We also don’t have to think that we aren’t making a difference in this time. The truth is that you are making a difference because God is developing you for a different season of your life. You can also be an example to others in this time by having peace in the midst of a world that is full of fear and anxiety.
God Has a Plan for You
You can rest assured that there is a great plan for your life. God promises this in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” So go out and be equipped with peace, knowing that you are being prepared for God’s great plan for you.
Destiny’s Prayer
God, give everyone in this room a profound sense of peace. Let them go out and be equipped in this season of preparation so that when the time comes they will be able to do whatever you call them to do. Help them to recognize that they do not need to fear their future because your hand is covering it and your plan for them is greater than they can even imagine. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
