By Pastor William Y. K. Brown Ph.D
(Resident Pastor)
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Osu-Bethel.
Tel: 0244165628/0243310773.
wykbrown@gmail.com
FRIDAY
THEME: FAITH THAT DOES NOT DISAPPOINT: MORDECAI’S“
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 25:40
“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
REFLECTIONS
Genuine Christian faith has God as the center of one’s life. When the word of God is appreciated and made the compass to navigate life, love for Him increases, trust deepens, and faith grows firmer, brighter, and solid. It is not only a problem-free life that depicts faithfulness; even hardships, frustrations, and deprivations do. Practical and authentic faith does not give up but declares: “. . . Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. That is faith!
It took a person of faith in God to set a world record by preparing a foreigner, someone from the minority, and a progeny of a family in captivity to become a queen for a powerful world empire. In the Book of Esther, a man who feared God, Mordecai, is introduced to us as a faithful person. His father, Kish, a Benjamite, was carried away captive from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC. His uncle, Abihail, died over time, leaving an orphan girl, Hadassah, behind. This kind relative, Mordecai, cared for Esther to guarantee her a future he had no idea about. Esther 2:7 reads, – “And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.” Heaven favored Mordecai for this act of kindness and love because orphans were highly vulnerable in the Old Testament era.
Taking on the responsibility of caring for Esther was an expression of faith in God and an honor to Him. Indeed, if “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” then Mordecai was a man of faith. He had no idea what Esther would become someday, but he trusted the word of God and, in cooperating with Him, gave Esther a fantastic and honorable future. Faith makes room for others to grow and to become better for Christ. Esther was under Mordecai’s tutelage when she had the favor of God to become the queen of such a prestigious world empire. Indeed, she was a wise, remarkable, and God-fearing queen due to Mordecai’s training.
By faith, Mordecai fulfilled his God-ordained responsibility of caring for Esther, a vulnerable child. Though his initiative was also in honor of Abihail, Esther’s father, he did it for God. Mordecai instilled the fear of God in Esther from her childhood, such that she had the favor of God and that of men. Because she also had faith in God, at one of the critical points in her life, Esther had Hegai’s favor first and, ultimately, King Ahasuerus’. Today, out of faith, you can become an instrument in God’s hand to give hope to an orphan or any other vulnerable child. Vibrant faith sows the seed of a bright future today. Also, Mordecai himself was honored for his faithfulness (Esther 6:10-11). By faith, seek to give a future to a vulnerable child or person, and God will remember your generous deed.
MY SONG OF COMMITMENT
SDAH 515 – “The Lord is My Light”
LET US PRAY
– Praise and thank God for helping you through life; thank God for His constant presence; pray for grace to exercise your faith always;
– Pray for vulnerable children – orphans, those in slums, on the streets, war zones, refugee camps, from poor homes, and those used in child labor;
– Pray for parents who have difficulty taking care of their wards, guardians who support children who are not their own, kindness and love of foster parents, and adopted children;
– Pray for a nation of peace, where everyone has equal opportunities, and the fear of God is highly esteemed; pray for more God-fearing parents and families in our society.
