9.14.25 – Esther: Providence in the Shadows
Key Verse for 2025: “Watch your life and doctrine closely.” – 1 Timothy 4:16
INTRO:
Esther is a unique book—God’s name is never mentioned, yet His hand is everywhere. What looks like coincidence—insomnia, timing, beauty, courage—is actually providence. Esther teaches us that God’s sovereignty rules over nations, His providence guides the details of our lives, and His people are called to live with faith and faithfulness.
Two tensions run through the book and through our lives:
1. God is completely sovereign, and we are completely responsible.
2. God loves us deeply, but it is always about His glory.
MAIN POINT: God’s providence is never random and never about luck—He is sovereign, and we are called to live with courageous faith and faithful choices for His glory.
SCRIPTURE-DRIVEN DISCUSSION:
Read Esther 4:13–17 and Esther 6:1–11 aloud.
Pause after each passage and share: what do you notice about God’s providence and human responsibility?
Additional references from the sermon include Esther 3:8–15; 5:9–14; 9:20–22; Matthew 10:29–31; Romans 8:28.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
Q1: Where do you confuse God’s providence with coincidence?
Reminder: Terry said the king’s insomnia looked random (chap. 6), but it was providence.
He also shared how God is working through COVID years to draw students back to Himself.
– How have you seen God’s providence at work in what looked like chance in your life?
Q2: How do you live with courageous faith like Esther?
Reminder: Esther declared, “If I perish, I perish”(4:16)—not resignation, but courageous faith.
– Where is God calling you to take a risk for His glory, even if it feels costly?
Q3: How do you live with faithful wisdom like Mordecai?
Reminder: Mordecai urged Esther, “Who knows if you have come to your position for such a time as this?” (4:14)
– Where might God have placed you “for such a time as this”?
– How can you act faithfully in that place right now?
Q4: How do you hold the two tensions together?
Reminder: Terry said, “God is completely sovereign, and I am completely responsible… God loves me deeply, but it is never about me—it is always about His glory.”
– Which side of this tension is harder for you to trust?
– How does holding both shape the way you face trials, pray, or make decisions?
LET’S REMEMBER:
God’s providence means nothing is random and nothing is wasted. He is sovereign over nations, Israel, and individuals. He loves us deeply, but His glory is always the goal. That frees us to live with courage and faithfulness—right where He has placed us—for such a time as this.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord, thank You that nothing is left to chance. Help us to trust Your providence, to live with the courage of Esther and the wisdom of Mordecai, and to seek Your glory above all. Strengthen us to be faithful in the time and place You have set us, for such a time as this. In Jesus’ name, Amen.