Faithfulness

What a year 2020 was! Having nearly the whole world shut down by COVID-19 has given authorities much power to decide how we live.

And it all happened so quickly! Many travel plans were canceled; all hospitality venues were affected. Church camp meetings went digital.

Yet we were thankful for the communication technologies already in place, plus the creative ways that our church work moved forward.

This got me to thinking about some Bible times when there were lockdowns. Joseph was used to his freedom, roaming the hills of home as a young boy.

Being thrown into a pit wasn’t his idea of freedom nor was being sold as a slave in Egypt. But he didn’t become a victim. Instead, he did his best to please his new master —no wallowing in anger or bitterness. Potiphar gave Joseph a taste of freedom. That fell apart, though, when Joseph was falsely accused and imprisoned.

But Joseph trusted God to see him through.

And we know the story ends with Joseph becoming the second most powerful ruler in Egypt, after the pharaoh. Esther’s story is a bit different, but she, too, was in a lockdown situation. Chosen as a candidate to be the new queen of Persia, Esther first lived for a year in the palace to prepare for her important night with the king. Life had changed drastically for her. She was surrounded by women vying to be the one chosen as queen. Talk about competition! Would Esther make new friends here? She was lonely. The secret of her Jewish nationality added pressure.

But because of her upbringing, she trusted God.

When selected as the new queen, Esther soon found her life, along with that of all the Jews, being threatened by palace intrigue.

Yet she remained faithful to God, spending time in prayer and fasting. He responded by giving her the necessary wisdom to devise a clever plan that allowed the Jews to defend themselves. The Lord must have given Esther nerves of steel to follow through with the plan suggested by her wise cousin, Mordecai.

She gave it her all, and God blessed her.

May we, too, live above our fear, especially in circumstances beyond our control, and remain faithful, trusting in God.

Louise Driver