Out of Bondage

Based on Esther 1-2, Acts 5:1-21

"Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter." Esther 2:5‭-‬7

Mordecai was used by God in a great position, even though he was a captive carried away from Jerusalem. Even in that circumstance, God used those who took a stand for Truth & doing the right thing. Although there are times when we feel trapped in a situation, so far away from help and maybe even far away from God, just remember that prayer, mixed with faith & hope, closes the gap! Mordecai took on the responsibility of Esther and cared for his family, and God never forgot his people in captivity! It's this same family of Jews that God would use to bring His people out of the bondage of the horrible death threat that was to come...because Esther would become queen!

"So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti." Esther 2:16‭-‬17

God has an interesting way of working things out! Out of every woman who could be chosen, the king chose Esther, a woman who was secretly a Jew! She found favor in his sight because she found favor in the sight of God first! God has amazing plans for us if we only trust Him to take us out of the bondage of our doubt & fear first!

"Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life." Acts 5:17‭-‬20

Just like Mordecai & Esther were raised to high positions, the disciples were taken out of the bondage of prison to speak in the streets about Jesus! Whatever bondage you may be facing, whether it be a slave to fear & doubt or other uncontrollable circumstances, just know impossibility is God's specialty! If you love God no matter what, and follow His Word, He will take the shackles off!