August 11

“For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honour” - Esther 8:16

Perhaps as you read this you are slap bang in the middle of a setback – either in your life, or in your plans? It seems to you that God has opened a door, only to slam it shut in your face.

Esther must have felt somewhat like that....selected to be one of the king's concubine's from a country-wide beauty pageant, Esther was soon to be affirmed the favourite, and became queen. This simple country girl must have thought her birthday's and Christmases had all come at once! Then, there was a setback to her happiness as Haman threatened to reveal to the king that his wife was one of the hated Jews. Esther took it to the Lord in prayer, and from what had looked to be one of the darkest days in Israel's history, God turned into one of the nation's greatest victories. Fear and trembling ended in joy and praise.

Life is filled with events that challenge us, and we are still learning what these setbacks are all about. Over time I have learned one thing. Whether young, middle-aged, or elderly – it doesn't matter....it's better to start over than to give up.

Setbacks teach us responsibility, and decisions we make turn us into men and women of worth and stature. What setbacks are you facing? Pray the Lord will give you strength and hope as you start over. “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength....they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” Isaiah 40: 29,31.

Click on the picture to the right to listen to our song. “If I Be Lifted Up” - Emmylou Harris and The Angel Band.

     Housekeeping details for you

     The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.

     A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here