Monday, December 7, 2009

Reversal of Fortune


I'm going through a study of the book of Esther by Beth Moore at my church. I don't believe it's a coincidence that this study became available just as I was beginning a new 3 book series on destiny. In God's Kingdom, there are no coincidences.

Esther is a story of a woman whom God chose to fulfill a great destiny. She came from lowly beginnings, an orphan, a Jew, a nobody to become Queen of Persia. Yet that wasn't her ultimate destiny. It was merely the means to achieve her destiny--which was to save her people from complete annihilation.

One thing Beth mentioned in the study is how there are moments in each of our lives, pivot points, where God does what she calls a reversal of fortune or a reversal of destiny. These moments or events can appear to our human eyes as extremely insignificant. But how we react to them and what follows has enormous consequences.

The cool thing is the Bible is full of examples of how God does this

Abraham was a nobody from Haran. God made him the father of a nation.
Joseph was a slave and a prisoner. God made him 2nd only to Pharaoh
Moses was insecure and stuttered. God used him to confront Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of slavery
Gideon was the least of his clan in the least tribe of Israel. God used him to defeat the Midianites
Rahab was a harlot. God birthed the Messiah, Jesus, through her descendants
David was a shepherd boy. God made him King of Israel
Peter was a fisherman. God made him a fisher of men and the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

I could go on.....
It seems as though God is in this business of Reversal of Fortune, doesn't it?

In my own life. I was a wounded, insecure, shy girl who grew up without a dad and in a disfunctional home. God made me an author.

God has a "reversal of fortune" planned for your life. If you haven't already experienced it, it's coming. I guarantee it. You are no less important to him than any of those people in the Bible. And you are here for a reason. To do something big! But God won't just dump it in your lap. He requires something from you in return. Just study the lives of the people I listed above. What did they all have in common? I would venture to say 2 things:

Faith
Surrender
Small price to pay to reverse your destiny!
Can you think of other examples from the Bible?

6 comments:

  1. I love the story of Esther. Great examples of how God used people for His purpose and their destiny.

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  2. Something I realized is that many of the people on this list (like Moses) and many of the prophets (especially Jeremiah) weren't exactly happy with their fortune reversal at the time, but as we look back at their stories, we think, "What a great honor!"
    I think back to the largest fortune reversal of all time - the God of the universe, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, becoming the servant of all and dying a sinner's death on the cross. And He is the greatest example ever of Faith and SURRENDER!
    I can only hope and pray that in situations when God wants to use me, I can overcome my lack of faith and inseccurities and stand up and say, "Here I am!"
    Thanks, MaryLu, for always giving me something to think about. :-)
    -Sapphire

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  3. What's so cool is that my Mom and a couple of my aunts (with some other ladies) are going through this study on Monday nights, and they are done except they plan on watching One Night with the King, next monday to wrap it up...and they LOVED that study!
    Esther's one of my favorites...her and Ruth...and I just love reading through both books of the bible...thanks for the reminder!

    Rae

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  4. I love the story of Esther. It is one of my favorites. What a tremendous woman of faith! It is so easy to have faith when things are going right, but is tough when everything is going wrong. We just have to remember that our God is faithful to us! Thank you Ms. Tyndall for your beautiful stories that inspire and captivate so many people. You are one of the greatest christian romance authors there is! You are definitely at the top of my list!

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  5. I also love the story of Esther and that great line, "Who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Gives me a little bit of a thrill! I think too of Ruth, the stranger, lonely and destitute, and she ended up in the line of the Messiah along with Rahab, etc. David is one of my favorites--destiny just hovers over his life--but someone you haven't mentioned is Josiah. He has a terrible background, ungodly parents and grandparents, and becomes king of Judah at such a young age, that you sort of think he hasn't got a chance. Then at several important "pivot points" in his life, he makes the right choices and ends up being one of the best!

    Sometimes I think I'm still waiting for my own reversal of destiny. Even so, I guess I could never have imagined in my youth what I'm doing now. My life is way different--in a positive way--from most of my siblings. The truth is that sometimes God is at work in our lives in ways that we don't even see until long afterwards! Thanks for your comments, as usual providing food for thought.

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  6. I led the Esther Bible study...the whole plate thing threw my group into a loop (and hysterics). But it was a great study and I learned so much. Glad you're doing it, too.

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