The book of Esther teaches us how quickly things can change. When God moves, everything can change instantly. As iniquity continues to abound and darkness encompasses the earth, the intercession of God’s people can turn things around 180 degrees in a moment. The jubilant celebration of Purim recognizes this reality.
As God’s people, we need to believe in instant change and the transformation that can take place at any moment. Isaiah talks about this transformation in a unique way:
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isaiah 60:1–3)[1]
As we move into “the great day of the LORD,” things will seem very dark (Zephaniah 1:14–15). Gross darkness will encompass the peoples of the earth. But as Christian believers, we are not to be conditioned by this negativity. Negative things may transpire, but our focus and anticipation are on the miraculous things that God is doing and the changes He is bringing. So we celebrate the Feast of Purim with this encouragement and focus our hearts on Him.
Read the entire book of Esther and get the story of Purim deep into your heart. That is a beautiful way to celebrate this feast. By one proclamation of the king, everything changed from a look of disaster and holocaust to a time of celebration and great victory for the Jewish people (Esther 9:14, 20–22). So we must retain hope for an instantaneous change.
You can look at current events such as the war against Israel and the Jewish people and wonder, “How could good come out of such evil?” But we must know and understand that it can, and it will. Purim is about remembering the fact that in a moment everything changed from sorrow into gladness, from mourning into a holiday. Therefore, these days of Purim are to be celebrated annually without fail into the days of God’s Kingdom (Esther 9:28).
As the drive of our intercession comes to the attention of the King, things can change instantaneously. That is what Purim is all about. It is not only to be celebrated by the Jews, but also by “all those who allied themselves with them” (Esther 9:27). Therefore, we as Christians are to celebrate the Feast of Purim because we have allied ourselves with the Jewish people to stand with Israel and to be a force of faith. We are to see the scriptural promises fulfilled over them.
No matter how bleak things may become, do not lose faith in God. We are to remember how everything literally changed overnight—not only in the story of Esther, but also in the story of Passover, the story of Elisha and the famine in Samaria (2 Kings 6:24—7:20), and the story of the Resurrection. Everything changed in a moment. We will see the blessings of Israel, the restoration of the land and the people, and the blessings that come upon those who align and ally themselves with Israel. So we believe for a tremendous celebration where fear and mourning are turned into tremendous joy and gladness as we celebrate this Feast of Purim.
Listen to the entire message: GIG188 Purim—Anticipate Instant Change
[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).