No Mention Of God Doesn’t Mean No God

The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible in which the name of God is not mentioned.  However, don’t let this fool you, for God is present.  He is seen as sovereign throughout the book of Esther, and He sovereignly kept His promises to His people.  As Haman plotted to kill the Jews, God fought for His people through a most unlikely person: Esther (Esth 3:6; 7:3-6).  Surely, in the midst of such opposition, Esther felt as though God was not near, but He was a very present help in time of need (Ps 46:1)!

We tend to think those in the Bible had a greater awareness of God in the midst of trouble, but they were people just like us.  They had to trust that God would provide without always knowing the outcome.

I was reminded this past Sunday how good it is to gather as a Church.  When we hear the public proclamation of the gospel through preaching and song, we grow in faith, learning what it means to hold fast to Christ “from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God (Col 2:19).  Faith does not come by our working for it, but it comes by grace through hearing the gospel.

“Faith comes from hearing; and hearing the Word of Christ” – Romans 10:17

Sunday Gathered is a way for God to grow our faith by reminding us that He is present.  When we take Communion each week, Christ is calling us to remember that He died for us, is present with us now and will feast with us in the Kingdom to come (Lk 22:15-20)!  Communion is a reminder that we are nourished and cared for by Christ alone.

We have a greater hope than Esther!  We know beyond any doubt that God will deliver us from death through His Son.  Even when God seems absent or no mention of Him is in the air, we can know that He is working all things together for our good!

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:37-39