Send to Kindle
by Precarious Yates.
Narrated by Artificial Intelligence, Jenny.
Click Above to Read/Listen to the Devotional
We all face conflict at some point. Conflict is a hallmark of this life. Some navigate most conflicts with ease and others are debilitated by any conflict at all. A majority of people have a fight or flight response when they encounter conflict. Some people try to achieve peace at any cost.
This week, starting on March 7, marks the festival of Purim. This is a festival that was started during a giant conflict that arose when Esther was Queen of Persia, somewhere around 480-470 BC. You’ll find the full story in the book of Esther. Here’s an overview of it:
King Xerxes banishes his first wife and seeks out another to be queen. After Esther, the cousin and foster daughter of Mordecai the Jew, was selected as queen, a man named Haman rose to power.
Haman insisted that everyone bow down to him. When Mordecai refused to bow, Haman let his anger run rampant. He not only wanted to kill Mordecai, he decided to kill all the Jews simply because the man he was mad at was a Jew.
Haman talks about his upset with his wife Zeresh. This woman is like those who stir up trouble just for laughs. Have you ever met people who love drama? It’s difficult to navigate your way to peace if you’re in conflict with someone who claims their identity from being in conflict. If you’re someone who loves drama, peace in our conflicts will be almost impossible to achieve. Sometimes we need to take an honest look at the conflict to see what we add to it.
Not everyone who loves drama takes it as far as Zeresh. She was the one to propose that Haman kills all the Jews. This woman gets offended for her husband’s sake. She doesn’t address the conflict herself, but stands behind the scenes pulling the strings.
When we take offense for others, we often take our sense of what is required for justice further than it ought to go. Zeresh might not have had the same reaction to Mordecai’s actions if these had been done to her. People often get offended for others, and then discover that these offenses are harder to forgive. This perpetuates the conflict.
In the end, Haman is killed by King Xerxes, and the Jews are allowed to defend themselves against any attack that comes against them. Instead of the genocide Haman was hoping, in his rage, to inflict, he loses everything. Mordecai, in the end, is promoted to a position that nowadays would be considered Prime Minister.
Something I observed through my current study in Esther is that Haman lacked something significant: thankfulness for what he had. Haman was second to the king. This brought him no contentment. Haman had a huge estate and tons of children. He had no gratitude, only a desire for more things that he could boast about.
Thankfulness transforms conflict. When we express thankfulness out loud, and especially when we express it in the quiet places of our heart, our outlook on current conflicts starts to change. If we are fighting with our spouse, we can transform the conflict almost immediately by expressing gratitude.
Practicing thankfulness might be the gateway to peace that we’ve been searching for.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
God bless you!
Precarious Yates
About the Author:
Precarious Yates has lived in 8 different states of the Union and 3 different countries, but currently lives in Texas with her husband, her daughter and their big dogs. When she’s not writing, she enjoys music, teaching, playing on jungle gyms, praying and reading. She holds a Masters in the art of making tea and coffee and a PhD in Slinky® disentangling.
Book Promo:
The captives will only be free when Shunda loses his fears about who he is. Yet what Shunda fears more than anything is loneliness.
Qoshonni figures she has become too violent and will never come back from the brink that the MerKing has pushed her to.
Mookori knows his father loves him best, but this has no consolation as war invades the shores of his father’s kingdom.
The Heart of the Caveat Whale is an epic trilogy that takes place both under water and on land. Book 1, The Captives, in the beginning of a journey into joy and terror. Sea monsters abound, as does the valor of both simple folk and nobles alike.
