Devotional for March 10

“Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14b). 

 

Esther had no idea when she was chosen to be queen what God had in mind for her. Perhaps she just thought it was about being a famous woman, pleasing the king, living in the palace, and being surrounded with maids and pleasures.

 

While this position brought her blessings and honor, it also placed her in a position of challenging opportunity laced with danger. Due to Haman’s evil conspiracy, she found herself in double jeopardy. Mordecai asked her to request an uninvited audience with the king which was a death sentence for most in ancient days. She would also need to reveal her ethnicity if she were to intercede for her people, and there was already a law on the books calling for the death her kind.

God thrust her into what would become the defining moment of her life.  Would she risk herself for the good of all the Jews, or would she save herself and let them fall to their fate? Would she decide in favor of self preservation or would she risk all for the greater good of God’s people?

We have the book of Esther in our Bible’s today because of the decision she made. It is highly improbable that we would have ever heard from this woman unless she had chosen to fast and pray, and then make a straight path for the king’s throne with the attitude, “If I perish, I perish!”  The annual celebration of Purim by the Jews is the continual reminder that God honored her decision.

Living and laboring for God is not always risk free or calculable. It wasn’t for Esther, and it won’t be for us. Some, like the Apostle Peter, in answer to prayer are delivered and live, while others, like James the brother of John die (see Acts 12:1-7).  The moment we try to live life risk free, all guaranteed and secure, is the moment that God can no longer use us.

God’s purpose for us is that we would courageously face the challenges of our time and place. God is not asking us to behave with presumptive folly. However, when choosing His life and the interests of His kingdom, we will need to risk, not run.

Like Esther, if life has pressed us into making a momentous decision, let’s fast and pray, while courage rises, and then let’s go do the honorable thing. This is what God had in mind, when He had us in mind.