“Do no think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” Esther 4:13,14 When you see trouble in the world around you do you take a stand for what is true and right or do you seek to blend in the hope of going unnoticed? Do you believe that this moment in your life could be orchestrated by God to be the most pivotal in your life and the lives of those around you? Do you live with an eternal perspective? Do the comforts of life lull you into an apathetic dullness to the world around you and even to the direction of the Holy Spirit?
In Ester 3 and 4 when Mordecai refused to bow down in respect before Haman what did that say about his faith in God? Do you value your faith in God enough so that you will not succumb to idolatry? Following God will never ensure that life will be easy just as all Jews were under persecution because Mordecai chose to please God instead of men. Were some Jews afraid enough to turn their backs on God? The weeping, fasting and praying to God show that the people of Israel knew that their only hope for deliverance was in God alone. What times in your life do you find yourself running to God as you plead for help in the midst of impossible circumstances.
Ester was in a place to speak to King Ahasuerus on behalf of the Jews. Did Esther find the strength and resolve needed to go to the king before the moment arrived? By the rules of the world Esther’s plan to go to the king was complete folly and would only lead to death. When God is not factored into your actions that is folly and will always lead to death. Mordecai’s encouragement to Esther proclaims that God is always faithful and He would deliver the Jews no matter what. Esther had to come to acknowledge that her life to that point was arranged by God so that she could be used by God to deliver her people. Will you acknowledge that God has placed you where you are today to impact the people around you?
