Esther 4:1-5 (The Message) When Mordecai learned what had been done, he ripped his clothes to shreds and put on sackcloth and ashes. Then he went out in the streets of the city crying out in loud and bitter cries…The queen was stunned. She sent fresh clothes to Mordecai…but he wouldn’t accept them.
The desperate truth of the plot to kill all the Jews drove Mordecai into deep expressions of grief. Queen Esther, isolated from the awful reality of the eminent destruction of her people, responded in naivety. She sent him new clothes and, in effect, told him to “cheer up!” She did not know that her people faced annihilation. Do we recognize the somber realities around us that call for weeping before God for the safety of His people? Instead of isolating ourselves in places of safety and insulation, let us take a hard look at people with needs, those struggling to survive; and let us engage in Spirit-led actions that bring relief.
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