We would naturally align ourselves with Queen Vashti’s defense. We would have agreed that she shouldn't be paraded about, declaring: "She's not an object! She knows her worth and doesn't need validation from men." That is exactly the statement we would have made had that situation unfolded right before our eyes.

Yet, consider the moment Vashti’s fate sealed a new path:

Esther 1:11-12 KJV "To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him."

We would have quickly attacked Esther, judged her as illegitimate, and reminded her about her upcoming replacement the moment she stepped in. We would have held opinions on how she, too, would be replaced once Xerxes’ ego was bruised. And in doing so, we would have missed God’s story unfolding right before our eyes. We would miss being a part of that story in a positive way, serving only as naysayers.

Aren't we exactly that now?

Let me throw in another example: Samuel grieved Saul. Why wouldn't he? He was the one God used to anoint and establish him as King. He saw Saul's disobedience and rejection of God happening in real-time, and anyone would grieve that loss, too. Yet, see what the Lord said to him:

1 Samuel 16:1 KJV "And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons."

Samuel held onto the old and was about to miss out on being a part of God's new story unfolding. Thank God, Samuel walked with the Lord and could hear and discern the times. He got to be part of God's unfolding story: David. Wouldn't we have lacked the confidence to anoint another King in anticipation of being let down if we were in Samuel's shoes? Wouldn't we second-guess ourselves and be consumed by doubt?

We sometimes grieve the end of a season we have grown accustomed to. We will be so hung up on it, never willing to let go, justifying why that "great thing" must be maintained.

What if we’ve been missing the point, and not all change is a bad one? What if discernment is what is needed in this realization? Being able to recognize the seasonal changes happening in real-time allows us to be a part of God's unfolding story. Confidence in accepting what is ending and embracing what is beginning because it is God's timing and His season. And when we step into that, we are definitely bound to enjoy it, for it is and will be good.