Verse 9-12:

“God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you.  For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”

A personal statement of the love and adoration he has for the receivers of this letter.  It may seem a humble brag if we didn’t know how Paul was, at least in his letters.  Truth is he wanted them to know how much he prayed for them and specifically to see them.  

Esther

Side note: I dont know where it comes from but there is always a need to insert the ‘Jesus’ or ‘God into every sentence and the odd thing is that it does seem cumbersome or awkward at times and does not flow with conversation.  Its not that I want to omit His Name at all but I think at times I have to do this rather than I want to do this.  It at this time I reflect on this that I try to think of Esther in those moments.  The book progresses without God having to say a single thing throughout the story He is only mentioned a few times by the people.  Its a rare book that speaks to me because the book is an illustration on how God is always present and is evident even if we do not see Him, feel Him, or is given the credit.  You can sense as you read the book of Esther how He is still moving and how his sovereignty is still in control.  And ultimately you see how Mordacai states clearly the same truth:

…he sent back to her this reply: “Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews. [14] For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:13-14 BSB

Side note to the side note: I don’t know if its crass to say but If in the rare occasion you forget to mention Him or give Him credit, He is kind of a big boy and understands.  In contrast maybe we get stuck in what to say because we do not mention Him when we should.  The point is there is not formulas it is in every moment that we have to stop and ask Him and expect we will receive wisdom as James says in his book and then stop worrying. 

Mutually Encouraged

Verse 11 & 12 have always remained with me over time as well.  I feel these verses have been a constant desire or reminder to myself of how precious a gift two believers can be to each other.  It is the idea that we are created to help each other, grow together, pray for one another, mourn with one another, admonish one another, teach one another, care for one another.  That God works through people to help people.  

What I want to speak against at this moment is my opinion based on how I have lived my life to a point and I think this is part of what is considered ‘works’ in the New Testament.  May point is this: God will accomplish His goal no matter what we do.  Its not in a sense that He does not trust us or that we do not matter but what I mean is that He is the only one who can bring fruition to His plan.  He is an orchestrator, a creator, he is bringer of all things and he delegates and gives out responsibilities but He is also omnipotent and omnipresent and can see everything from beginning to end, is timeless, and sovereign.  He can see how all it works out, what parts need to fit, what factors need to be removed.  We can only play the part He gives us but it isn’t dependent on us.  This is odd to say but I say this because, due to sin, we place this anxiety on ourselves to say the right thing or do the right thing and this is because the source of sin is this focus on ‘I’ or ‘me’.  

Forgive me if I cannot clearly convey this but it takes time to realize that sin is all the things we think of but its main source is in self focus.  If we were to imagine a sinless world then we have to imagine what happens when things go wrong: a car accident where, in this world, the problem is entirely yours to deal with.  But in a sinless world immediately the fault is known and the parties responsible take action.  There is no need for insurance and even if the person at fault doesn’t have the money, their concern is for who was hurt and how it effects them.  Passerby’s are too readily to help administer aid and they do not care about who is at fault but they are concerned if both parties have the means to fix the cars, have provisional transport to work, if they have people to pick up or drop off, etc.  People call their jobs and explain the situation and the employers are all too ready to let them take time off to assist those in the accident, ask if this effects their bills, what they can do to help, and set about explaining to the rest of the workforce how they can pray for the individuals.  Everyone at the work site is petitioning God for resources and no one is left gossiping but actively thinking of their own families in thankfulness that they are in their lives and sending reminders of love to them.  

When you think in contrast to our world the one person who is not at fault has to deal with the situation: blame is cast and one person who may be completely at fault is now worried about work and money and what to do.  That person is now on the defensive.  The person who may be the victim is now angry and scared, worried about money and work also the coming battle over insurance and responsibility over the accident.  Now, all of this is logical in our world but the contrast between the first scenario is in the focus: in a sinless world the concern is for others and in our world the concern is for ourselves.  Even in worry we are just focusing on our own needs, wants, and desires.  This is sin.  God created us to be fruitful and multiply in our world and to live a selfless life for Him and others.  Sin is that thing that is in us that will drive the focus inward rather than outward.  

This is the best I can explain and ill work harder at doing better at this but the reason I say these things is this: when it comes to saved individuals trying to ‘work out our salvation in fear and trembling’ we will think worry or anxiousness (at times) is faith but I feel they are actually works.  Bear with me but I say this because in reality we worry about what to say, how to say it, or giving God glory in the moment because our focus isn’t about helping another person but how we make it sound and what they might think in response.  (And I am not saying to do things are bad and if this is the process you have come to then keep working it out, I just mean the main focus may be off and I am attempting to help place a better focus in those moments in order to help all of us not only be “better’ but to have joy being in these moments).  

You see, if people respond well to what we say, then we did a good job!  If not then we mull over what we could have done better.  But the focus remains on us and I think we do this because instead of serving God in love we are really seeking proof that we are doing a good job and on the right path.  And this focus means we need external proof to confirm we are ‘doing the Lords work’ or evangelizing or serving others.  Where this hits hard in our lives is that we tend to rely on the good times rather on the Lord.  But this falls apart when we face trials like Job did (to whatever degree) and we don’t question what God is doing (like Job) but we question if God is even exists.  In my experience it is in these times I felt the hardest blow of trials and the lack of willingness to even continue and I think this is also the source of most divorces, homelessness, fights, suicides, homicides, and all matter of evil because we don’t question what Gods plan is but we instead wonder if He is even there.

Anyways this is a lot and it is only the Holy Spirit that will reveal the truth of this to whoever reads this but I only wish to help anyone in these moments because if we start to really understand sin, then we start to understand Romans 8 and how the flesh is not us anymore.  And we start to understand what it means to have this amazing gift in ‘jars of clay.’  And when Jesus says not to worry, we start to understand why.  The end result is this: we start to have joy because instead of worrying about what to say in the moment, we just start to be curious about the individual and we ask more questions then give answers and we start to relate with them, and we start to enjoy their perspective because it reminds us of the same struggle and this is part of the reason I love Verse 11 and 12: that we may be mutually encouraged by each others faith.  Sure it doesnt apply to non believers but everyone is created in Gods Image and we are not ‘failed designs’: we are perfect designs corrupted by sin. 

Broad Instructions

Another part to this is I believe we are less ‘orchestrated’ than we like to think.  As a result of our understanding, like Paul says when we are transformed by the renewing of our mind, I think God gives us a lot of freedom and interjects from time to time.  I cant say how often or what percentage or degree, I can only say for sure that all of us underestimate him.  And if he is a delegator of authority in specified arenas, then He is also fully confident in his choice.  I feel this is the essence of the instruction God gave to Adam and Eve: to multiply and subdue the earth and what Jesus said: the greatest commandment is to love your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.  When you think of it: these are pretty broad instructions with little detail (I mean, try delegated a multi-billion dollar company to a new CEO with the instruction: ‘Ok, don’t besmirch the company and treat people fairly’ and then just walking out of the office!). I believe that ultimately there is some freedom in what we get to do as long as we fulfill those simple and broad commandments.

Final thoughts on the stark contrasts

We don’t always remember each verse, well at least I don’t, we don’t always quote things right or understand clearly.  Maybe those who spent lifetimes in the Bible can do that, maybe that should be each and every one of us, but I hear testimonies of people who had only a love of Christ and raised good God fearing kids.  I have also heard of those who studied the word meticulously and did the same.  I have heard of those who were gifted and talented beyond measure in preaching the gospel and yet fell to ruin and those, like Paul, who seemed to feel his vocalization of the gospel was poor and without merit just so the message would clearly be evident not in his words but in the Power of God.  The apostles were regarded as common and unlearned men and yet preached the life of Jesus.  They had ample education in the Torah and the scriptures but had none of their own besides being taught their trades.  They were simple men and yet they all lived and died for christ.  They even made the same mistakes we all do, as Peter did when Paul had to rebuke him.  We are all different in uniqueness, with the same sin inherited by Adam and Eve, and it begs the question: where do the similarities end and differences begin?  Its all a wonder at times but faith is the result and the means in the end.