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The Bible offers Christians many examples of faith from which we can learn and be encouraged. One of the most remarkable examples is that of Queen Esther.
by Donna Butler
as fear ever paralyzed you, made you afraid to make a critical decision because of possible or probable serious consequences?
It has been said that courage is not the absence of fear; it is the mastery of it. The Bible, however, adds an important element to the definition of courage: trust and faith in God. Moses told the ancient Israelites not to fear the other nations when they crossed over the Jordan River into the promised land, because God was with them and would not forsake them (Deuteronomy 31:6).
How can you have this kind of faith? How can you step out and confidently make decisions that will affect the course of your physical - and maybe even your spiritual-life?
From an orphan to a queen
For the answer, consider the example of a Jewish girl from ancient Persia.
In the third year of his reign, Ahasuerus, king of the Medes and Persians, searched for a new queen from among the beautiful virgins in his kingdom. She was to replace Queen Vashti. Vashti had humiliated her husband in front of many people including all his officials. She had refused to allow him to display her beauty before everyone at his special feast (Esther 1:10-22).
Esther, a young orphan, was among the women the king ordered brought to the palace for special pampering and preparation for the king's scrutiny as possible royal replacements. Her cousin, Mordecai, had reared her. Mordecai was a Jewish servant "in the king's gate" (Esther 2:19), which implied that he held a position in the king's court. Following her cousin's advice, Esther did not reveal her ethnic identity. After the king chose her as queen, she maintained her contact with her cousin (Esther 2).
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