Courage leads to FOCUS
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. - Esther 4:16
Words of courage for this seasonal pandemic
A condemned prisoner awaiting execution was granted the usual privilege of choosing the dishes he wanted to eat for his last meal. He ordered a large mess of mushrooms. "Why all the mushrooms and nothing else?" inquired the guard. "Well," replied the prisoner, "I always wanted to try them, but was afraid to eat them before!"
Courage is bravery, valor. Courage permits one to face extreme dangers and difficulties without fear. I believe courage leads to FOCUS which enables us to become single-mindedness for God. Now notice the words of Esther. “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Esther was willing to die to save her people. When we exercise courage, it gives us the mindset to stay FOCUS on the ultimate tasks of kingdom work.
First, Esther’s focus was self-centered instead of doing anything for the good of her people. Mordecai reminded her of her past, present and future.
“Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.” Esther 4:13
I believe each of us must continue to access God’s original intent for our lives just like Esther. One must FOCUS by executing the following in your life:
1) Find yourself by defining who you are.
2) Own your why. Understand why you do things you do. Remember each of us have different portions of Time, Talents, and Treasures to fulfill that why.
3) Cast your worries toward the realization of the bigger picture of Kingdom work instead of the insignificant things that we cannot control.
4) Unify every aspect of life (Spiritually, Physically, and Mentally) toward kingdom work.
But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17 KJV
5) I want you to grasp SURETY knowing that Jesus will remain the ultimate answer for your focus, because the writer of Hebrews states as follows:
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8 KJV Because He is the same I have sure knowledge, I have the assurance, I have the guarantee that my undertaking of courage will prevail.
God uses everything and everybody for his divine purpose.
No part of our lives is untouched. God is in control of every aspect, whether we want him to be or not, and there is nothing that is not subject to him (Hebrews 2:5-8 NIV).
5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.
6 But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him?
7 You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor
8 and put everything under their feet. In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.
9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Why God uses everyone and everybody? To demonstrate what He can do with less when less is dependent on Him than He can do with more when more is in rebellion against Him.
According to Psalm 8, God made Adam lower than the angels but crowned him with glory and honor and subjected everything under his feet. Our first problem is that Adam failed and handed over our ruling authority to Satan. That is why we do not yet see everything subjected to [man] (Hebrews 2:8). What did God do in response? He didn’t change His strategy. Rather, He committed Himself to bring about His kingdom rule on earth through a man. He even accomplished it Himself through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Son temporarily became lower than the angels to realign heaven and earth. He came down to taste death for everyone and was crowned with glory and honor.
And, the best thing we can do for our lives is to search for and surrender to His will with courage that leads to FOCUS (Find yourself, Own your why, Cast your worries toward the bigger picture instead of your personal situation, Unite with Christ with the Surety that Christ never changes.
FOCUS will enable us to become single-mindedness for God in doing Kingdom work even doing this COVID-19 Pandemic. So I challenge you to become FOCUS.