Drawing Near

Drawing Near

Queen Esther

Read: Esther 5:1-3

Patricia blinked her eyes and looked across the restaurant again. “Is that who I think it is?” she asked Lisa.

Turning around, Lisa nearly jumped out of her seat. “Yes, it’s him! Didn’t you read in the paper about the movie being filmed here? Let’s go get an autograph!”

Patricia started to grab a pen from her purse, then hesitated. “I don’t know. . . . He has a reputation for being unpredictable and cranky. What if he made a scene in front of all these people? I’d just die!”

Queen Esther had much more than embarrassment at stake when she decided to approach the king. The law mandated death for anyone who entered the inner court without being summoned. If Xerxes was in a good mood, he would hold out his scepter and spare her life. It had been thirty days since Xerxes had called for Esther. Did he still care for her more than the many other women available to him? Would he be angered by her audacity, or feel like showing mercy? Esther stood in the court dressed in her royal robes, watching to see how the king would react and waiting to find out if she would live or die.

Sometimes we hesitate to approach God, as if we fear how he will react to us. Some women experience God only through formal worship rituals, never dreaming of the personal relationship he desires to have with them. While it is important to recognize God’s majesty and holiness, he doesn’t want us to remain distant from him. Because of Jesus’ death, we can approach God freely at any time and in any situation. When we draw near to God with the proper attitude, we don’t have to wonder how he will react to us. He won’t extend a gold scepter to us—he will hold out his nail-pierced hands.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

James 4:8 (NKJV)