Quiet Strategy

QUIET STRATEGY

Esther 5:1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”

4 “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”

5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.”

So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”

BACKGROUND: Right from chapter five until the end of this book, the unexpected twists and turns makes the book of Esther fascinating. When a person is bloviating all the time, it’s easy to dismiss all discourse as chatter; however, Esther moves with poise and quiet confidence. Amen. Esther is filled with courage, boldness, quietness and trust in the power of God. Go-getter, trend-setter, game-changer, never-content, fearless, alert, unstoppable, unbreakable, tenacious, efficacious, tireless, confident, shrewd, astute, sharp, patient, wise, strong prayer warrior - all these qualities shoehorned into one great package – she was Esther the star!

I would like to discuss this subject under the following subheadings

1) TIME: On the third day

2) DEEDS ARE WEIGHED :

3) GARMENTS

4) DIVINE SHIFT

5) BOLDNESS

6) FINALE

1) TIME: On the third day

Hosea 6:2: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.”

Time of God is everything friend! You cannot push God, you got to push yourself to prostrate in front of Him like Esther in order to know the heartbeat of God. Esther stepped out only ‘ on the third day’, says the opening words of this chapter. This speaks of patience and smart movement! Your umpteen educational degrees become just a piece of paper if you lack knack to crack problems with dexterity and wisdom.

Haste brings waste but smart movement comes from shrewd calculation and discernment. Esther had fasted along with her maids for three days before stepping into the devil’s domain. Are you listening? I will be speaking more about ‘fasting’ below, before that I want to talk more about TIME OF GOD.

Isaiah 60:22 is a powerful verse that reverberates with anyone waiting for God’s perfect timing. It reads: "The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time, I will do this swiftly." It may look like delay but He will move swiftly, like on escalator when the right time arrives. Say Amen.

Ecclesiastes 3:2:

"A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted."

Psalm 31:15 in the Bible reads, "My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who pursue me.”

Illustration: I would like to speak about an incident that happened in Abide School, the free School that we run for the underprivileged in Hyderabad. As principal of the School, I had suspended one particular student because of some issues, her brother is also studying in our school. The next day her father, who is a daily wage labourer in construction work came to drop the brother, I was standing outside in the morning as usual, but the father stood far away, dropped the brother and left. I was actually expecting him to come near me, talk, argue or something but he did nothing, very respectfully he left without saying a word. He did the same thing for the next two days, I was actually alarmed and wondered what was happening, on the third day, in the evening after the school was over and after all the students left, he came along with his wife very humbly and spoke to be very gently and said, ‘ I apologize for my daughter madam, please take her back.’