By: Laura Bennett
In the overwhelm of our current culture landscape, as debates around religion, race, gender, virtue and so much more demand our focus, it can be hard to hear just how God would like you to respond to everything.
We know He wants us to “love our neighbour” and the foundational truth of aiming for “Christlikeness” in all we do remains, but how are you uniquely placed to respond to the needs of the world? What is the quality that God has woven into you, that is needed in this era?
Max Lucado is a pastor, speaker, and best-selling author of over 30 titles, including his latest Made for This Moment.
Focusing on the life of Esther – who famously used her God-appointed favour with the king to save the Jewish people – Max’s writing considers the arena each of us occupy, and how it allows us to remedy the world’s pain.
US pastor and acclaimed author Max Lucado’s writing considers the arena each of us occupy, and how it allows us to remedy the world’s pain.
Max shared that Esther’s story shows us how vital our contribution is in this world.
“The fact that Esther stepped up is only made more powerful when you realise that up until that point, Esther had been quiet,” Max said.
As a queen serving her king, he said “she could have easily been the wallflower – taken the back [seat] and not done anything, but she didn’t.”
One thing that can get in the way of us seizing our cultural moment now, Max said, is that we focus too much on the problem and not on the God who’s equipped us to solve it.
We focus too much on the problem and not on the God who’s equipped us to solve it.
“Your problem is not that your problem is so big, but that your view of God is too small,” Max said.
“If I can understand that the God who’s taking care of me today has always been [in existence], and that He has a plan in mind that will far exceed any struggle that we’re going through right now, as that image of God gets bigger and bigger and bigger, then my problems – be they significant – are brought down to size.”
Given how big God is then, and his transparent point in John 16:33 that we will “face many problems in this world”, why does God knowingly leave problems in our lives?
Why does God knowingly leave problems in our lives?
“There are two big promises when it comes to this,” Max said.
“Number one, God will use us, just like he used Esther. He uses us as His instruments. We are His vessels.
“But promise number two is, God needs to shape us in order to use us.
“He’s prone to polishes, but he’s also prone to pull out the sandpaper and scrape away the edges that need to be filed down. And that’s a painful thing, it is.
“Sometimes we go through these struggles in life and it’s simply God sandpapering us, in order for us to become more useful tools in His hands.
“[We’re] being shaped or made more and more into his image.”
Max’s book Made for This Moment is out now.
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
About the Author: Laura is a media professional, broadcaster and writer from Sydney, Australia.