“…in the 1st month…they cast the pur…And the lot fell on the twelfth month” Esther 3:7.
In Esther the lot was the decision to annihilate the Jews…a death sentence…a decision that would rock every Jew’s world. We note that there would be eleven months between the decision and the act being carried out. Every Jew had to live with this death sentence over their head for almost a year.
When my sister was given 3-6 months to live our family felt the same way as we became residents of the hourglass. Every grain of sand represented a looming disaster and took a great amount of spiritual work to not allow Satan full reign in our ‘shadow of death.’ Everyone has a valley of living between the now of our lives and the future of our hopes and dreams. This valley is the playground of Satan who will reek havoc in a psychological battle in our mind. ‘Because Satan has a limited leash where believers are concerned, his most powerful tactics are psychological. Though he cannot possess our minds, he profoundly and destructively influences our thoughts.’ Esther, It’s Tough Being a Woman, p. 67. Satan’s most effective tactic with God’s children is to trap us in our own mental torment.
He tells us that we will never be that person…we will never attain that dream…our children are not safe. We must build a Psalm 23:4 life to combat his mental attacks. ‘Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me, your rod and staff they comfort me.’ Sometimes we hand over God’s most effective weapons to Satan. God’s rod is the authority over our lives which should not be questioned as Eve did when Satan won that war in her mind. God’s staff is the protection over our life, with only God knowing why we are not given certain things in our timeframe. Satan will wage war in our minds convincing us that our dreams will never be attained and our fears will always be realized.
Let us surround ourselves with the promises of God as we walk through our valleys of the in between.
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