Fasting Before Feasting, Praying Before Swaying Series

ILL. Not very long ago there were two sheep who put on wolf's clothing and went among the wolves as spies, to see what was going on. And to help the flock be better prepared against these predators.They arrived on a holiday, when all the wolves were eating and drinking and dancing in the clubs.

The first sheep said to his companion, "Wolves are just like us, only partying more. It looks like every day is a party day in Wolfland." He made some notes on a piece of paper (which a spy should never do) and he headed them "My Twenty-Four Hours in Wolfland".

While back from the Wolf’s place, these first sheep decided not to be a spy any longer but to write a book on Wolfland and also some articles for the Sheep's Home Companion magazine. The other sheep guessed what he was planning to do, so he slipped away and began to write a book called "My Ten Hours in Wolfland."

The first sheep suspected what was up when he found his friend had gone, so he sign a contract with a Hollywood producer for the rights over a movie "The superheroes of the Wolfland,". The other sheep immediately sold his manuscript to a TV syndicate for an entire season series called: “The Mysteries of the Wolfland during the Full Moon Night”.

Everybody in Sheepland became fascinated with wolfs’ stories and movies The two sheep became rich and famous. Both sheep gave the same message to their fellows: wolves were just like sheep, except partying more. It looks like every day is a party day in Wolfland. The sheep were convinced by all this, so they drew in their sentinels and they let down their barriers. When the wolves descended on them one night, howling and slavering, the sheep were as easy to kill as flies on a windowpane.

Moral? It’s up to you to find it… Esther for the End-times, the 6th part…A grand pause takes place between chapters 4 and 5. A time-out - a 72-hour intermission that represents a silent yet powerful interlude during which Esther draws on the source of her strength.

- DECISION –“Thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

- ACTION -"Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace" (Esther 5:1),

Between Decision and Action, Esther enters a period of waiting. Three days of deliberate listening, searching, "mindfulness." Of becoming aware of what God might be doing for His endangered people.

An important Hebrew word helps us catch the point of this pause: ken, translated "thus, so, likewise" in Esther 4:16. Its root mean¬ing gives the idea of moving "from provision through preparation and establishment to fixity and tightness."

In view of something in the future, I do certain things now in order to get ready for it. Surprisingly, ken ap¬pears twice, back to back, in Esther's response to Mordecai—"I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go" (Esther 4:16. NASB). In other words, "When this [period of preparation] is done, I will go" (NIV). Something important must first take place. Only then will Esther be prepared to act. As Esther ponders Mordecai's words, "And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?" (v 14), she wonders, Is this so? Is God about to do something through me? If so, I need to know. I need to be ready.

Remember, Esther was a good person. She believed in God. The problem was that God just wasn't the all-purpose and priority in her life. She was part of the compromising Diaspora of exiled Jews. Now, in view of the coming crisis, her focus shifts, and Esther does what it takes both to deepen her relationship with God and to be truly aware of His leading…

It reminds me of what I've heard many inactive members say through the years: "I left the church, but I never left God. God has al¬ways been a part of my life, even though I don't go to church or do all the things the church tells me to do."

While their lifestyle, personal decisions, and priorities may not harmonize with the way God asks them to live or be or do, in their heart these inactive members still believe. They still consider themselves one of God's children and feel very much in tune with Him. But you know, when a crisis breaks out, when life fills up with chaos, many of those same people discover that they're not as connected to God as they once imagined.

Esther now realized that she'd been running on empty and did something about it. She could not act without first quieting her soul and connecting once again with God. She cannot do one more step in her life without first clarifying the issues and what God might be up to.