When Life Knocks You Down

The Book of Esther

When Life Knocks You Down

                We all have problems in our life. There is no exception to this rule. We carry pain and issues from our past as well as current struggles. There is no denying that life can be hard and painful. If you look around the world it is clearly evident. There really is no one either that has the same problem, every situation is unique. There is something that I really hope touches your heart this morning and it is found in the book of Esther, actually, it is found in probably every book of the Bible.

                Esther had a really hard life. She was a minority in a kingdom that displaced her people. She was an orphan who lost her father and mother at a very young age.  That means she had no father or mother figure at all. She was raised by her cousin. She had a lot of pain in her life, yet she did something that is truly inspiring. She overcame them. She was so disadvantaged that it would be easy for her to go through life sulking and blaming people for her problems. The funny thing is that she ended up being queen of Persia and even saved her people from genocide.

                Esther is not the only one that had a hard life. Moses ran away from Egypt and lived in a desert for 40 years, Joseph went from a loved son to a slave then became a prisoner, Ruth lost her husband at a young age, and Jesus faced the suffering of the world because he loves you. They all had adversity and troubles into their lives yet they overcame them. Actually, God used all of them to help people. God helped them overcome their impossible odds.

                I want to encourage you this morning to get up and stop sulking. Stop blaming or resenting people because of the situation you are in. When you do that, you don’t allow God to work in your life. The world begins to revolve around you. You cry “Oh woe is me!” I know life is tough, and I understand that the situations from your past and present are something that I probably can never know. I know you are hurting and stressed, but if you let that keep you down, you bar God from being able to use you. There are a lot of Christians who have overcome diversity and now they help others in tough situations. I struggled with abuse and depression, but God helped me overcome that and now I can help others.

                What if all those people in the Bible did not overcome their adversity? What if Esther just stayed a depressed little orphan? What would happen? Well many Jews would have been destroyed. What about Moses? If he did not overcome his adversities Israel would be slaves for a much longer time. What about Jesus? Well we all know that answer. If I sat and sulked about life and not overcome my challenges, I would be a completely different person then I am now. I would not be a Christian and probably be doing a lot of Drugs. I would probably not be in school. I would not be writing this to you. We all have a purpose and if we let our trials keep us down, then we become very tough to use. It’s time to get up and fight the good fight.

2^nd Corinthians 1:4

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.