Do You See What I See?

Do You See What I See? What God Sees When He Looks at You! As our story opens we find three small children leaving their schoolhouse and walking towards home. As they continue their journey, they come across a small pond. The three of them lean over and peer into the cool waters of the pond. They see their reflections. They talk about what their teacher taught them that day. She taught that the people in the Bible who did great things for God, weren’t always the bravest, or the smartest or the strongest! In fact, just the opposite was true. The people in the Bible were often weak, scared, and very shy until God got ahold of them! Once they met God, He showed them who He made them to be and they were changed! As the children peer over their reflections, they, too, wonder, “who has God made ME to be?” David A Lesson in Boldness When we think of David, our first thoughts go towards the huge battle that he fought and won against Goliath, the large enemy of Israel. And that IS a great way to think of David. But there are other areas in which he is well known. David was a great musician, “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1). As a young boy, he practiced the harp on the sheep fields of Bethlehem. As he grew, he wrote songs or Psalms, as the Bible calls them, that fill nearly half of the Book of Psalms in the Bible. David was also a warrior. His courage to stand up to and defeat Goliath is known all over the world. 3. And finally, David was a king; one of the best kings of all time. How did David get such confidence, such strength? How did he go from watching sheep to being one of the greatest kings in all of Israel? David loved God. He looked to Him for everything. As he grew in his love for God, his faith and trust in God grew also. The Bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart. "The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart,…” -1 Samuel 13:14 That means that he loved God so much and wanted to please Him all of the days of his life! God was saying to David, “David, Do You See What I See? You are not simply a young shepherd boy, but I see you as one of the greatest musicians of all time! I see you as a mighty warrior! I see you as a king!” What a powerful lesson for us to learn as well. When facing the giants in our lives, like David, if we will look to God, and love Him with all of our heart, He will help us be strong and beat those giants down to the ground. He will then show us all of the amazing plans that He has for our lives. “Lord, help me to be bold!” Queen Esther A Lesson in Bravery The story of Queen Esther is one of the most inspiring stories of the Bible. Queen Esther allowed God to guide her. And Queen Esther did a mighty work for Him. Because she obeyed God, she saved thousands of people from death. Did she start out that way? Was she of high birth or top rank or listed as one of society’s status symbols? Not at all! In fact, Esther was an orphan. She was a young orphaned Jewish girl who had been shipped off to a foreign land. Yet none of that kept God from exalting her to the position where He wanted her to be. Through a series of events, Esther won a beauty contest. She was placed in a palace in Persia to live with the king of Persia as his wife. But at the palace, she got word from her cousin Mordecai that an evil man named Haman wanted to destroy all of the Jews in the area. Unfortunately, Esther was a Jew, and her life was in danger. Little did Haman know that that means Esther herself would also be destroyed because she too was a Jew! Mordecai told Esther to rise up and stop this. He wanted Esther to go to the king and plead for the Jews’ lives. But Esther knew that anyone who went to the king uninvited would have their head chopped off. What to do? Esther was scared. But Mordecai encouraged Esther to consider that she might have a greater calling. After fasting and praying Esther realized that she must go to the king and tell him what the evil man Haman was doing. She risked her life but she went forward anyway and trusted God every step of the way. We can hear God saying, “Esther! Do You See What I See? You are not just a shy orphan girl living in a foreign land with no hope! You are a mighty woman of God, called for such a time as this! I have chosen you to save your nation.” And with God’s help, that is exactly what she did! How about you? Have you ever faced a scary situation and had to find the bravery to go forward, trusting in God? You can do it! God is in you! He will help you! “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 - “Lord, help me to be brave!”