About a year ago, I hit a rough phase in my life. I wanted a change of everything...city, career, wardrobe, friends, you name it!! Thankfully, it was near the holiday season and it was time for me to pay a visit back home to family and close friends. During my time there my loving mother being all that she is and more (as always), suggested that I read with her a bible study workbook on the book of Esther by Beth Moore. I cannot express in words the hope, comfort, and encouragement I found in my study of that book, Esther. It's amazing what you come to find and realize when you search with all your heart the word of God. Therefore, I decided to share it with the women from my church.The ladies and I have been meeting for the last 5 weeks for an in depth studying on the book of Esther, and every single week that we come together to learn and share I am touched and inspired even moreso than the first time I read this book last year. It really is precious! So, this past week we learned two literary devices that the book of Esther contains and I want to share tonight - Chiastic Structure and Peripety. Basically, it is in the concept of what we call the reversal of destiny or reversal of fortunes. I'll explain and give you a personal example of Reversal of destiny/fortunes. However it appears events are going, you pick it up and you turn it and bring a miraculous victory that could only bring the mouth hanging to say "That had to be God". Anyone wants a life that says "That had to be God" or at least I know I did when I could not find a way out to my situation 10 years ago (a story to tell later) and even so a year ago. God sought me out to reverse my destiny in amazing ways.
A year ago, I was ready to leave NYC, my career, friends, church, etc. to further my studies at Loma Linda University and start a new life in CA. However, the same things that I wanted a change here in NYC were the ones that took a complete turn that made it more than clear than day that staying in this same city was the better option. They gave me a new position at work, my male best friend asked me to be his girlfriend, and I was asked to become part of prayer ministry and other activities that I was very interested in at my church. These involvements turned my world around giving it a kick and that much needed flavor that had vanished with the everyday routine of life. Suddenly, everything was set in place for me where I was left with no complaints and felt happy and fulfilled. God used used all those situations, which seem to be the worst to turn it around into the best outcome. I didn't see that coming at all. Sometimes we don't see it when its happening. But He takes our mourning and grieving and turns it into our wild dancing after we have worked through it and allowed him to take the time he needs and the cooperation he requires from us to bring us healing. Then, every single one of us can know the power of the reversal of destiny. I certainly have experienced it!
Chiastic structure = Inverted Parallelism - It is a reversal of structures to emphasize an overarching point. For example...............................................
"Don't live to eat, eat to live."
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
Here are the phrases that my wonderful and smart class came up with...............................................
"We pray when we need something, when prayer is what we need."
"If I get my life together I will have time for God; if I make time for God my life will come together."
The second is Peripety. "It is a sudden turn of events that reverses the expected or intended outcome particularly in a literary work." A lot of huge things happen, sometimes it's the sudden turn in that we may not even realize that was the turn or we may not even know that it has happen, but when the history of our lives is written we will be able to look back at it and say "that was it, that was one of the most important events in my life". The Peripety is the hinge on which the reversal of destiny turns. Its not always what we expected it to be. Esther 6:1-3; 6:6 is where we find the peripety in Esther. If you read the book you will see it clearly.
Esther was called to obedience not to figure out the how it was all going to come down. God was bringing the how. We learn that it's not up to us to figure it out. We are not responsible how these things work out. We are responsible for that "WHAT" I'm asked to do not the "HOW".
I want to finish by sharing this quote from Beth Moore, "Perpetia swiftly turns a routine sequence of events into a 'story worth telling'". "When all is said and done our lives will have theme and beauty and all manner of reversal that the enemy tried to sow in -if we cooperate with God - everything he wanted will be reversed back on him, if we are willing, the undoing of everything that was naturally done by the supernatural chosen destiny of one faithful God." I can assure you there will be structure to our story because that is God's way.
Talk with ya'll soon again!
Hugs,
Me
