Yesterday we saw the “turning point” speech of Mordecai. This message hit the bulls-eye of Esther’s heart. As a result of his words, she requests of her own people a 3-day commitment to fasting on her behalf as she prepares to go before the king and make her request to him (v15). Though prayer is not mentioned directly in this book, I think it is safe to assume that this time of fasting was mainly for the purpose of praying for Esther as she prepared to put her very life on the line by going into the King unannounced to reveal her heritage in an attempt to save her people.
Now if there are any words in this story that exceed the valor of Mordecai’s “for such a time as this” speech, it comes with the final words of the queen in 4:16. Esther’s confidence in God is seen as she boldly states…“If I perish, I perish.” Esther is willing to trust God and do what was right, what He had directed her life for, in spite of the consequences. Boy, do we need the confidence of this woman in the lives of Christians in the church today.
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose my job, I lose my job.”
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose my friend, I lose my friend.”
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if lose my raise, I lose my raise."
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose the promotion, I lose the promotion.”
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose the starting position on the team, I lose the starting position on the team.”
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose my popularity, I lose my popularity."
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose the election, I lose the election.”
But the truth is that we will never take a stand like Esther did until we truly believe that one person can make a difference. We will never take this stand until we understand that God has been at work behind the scenes in my life and maybe, just maybe, He has put me in the right place under the right circumstances for such a time as this! And in the weeks ahead we will see in the story of Esther the truth of Proverbs 21:1, “The kings heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
Now if there are any words in this story that exceed the valor of Mordecai’s “for such a time as this” speech, it comes with the final words of the queen in 4:16. Esther’s confidence in God is seen as she boldly states…“If I perish, I perish.” Esther is willing to trust God and do what was right, what He had directed her life for, in spite of the consequences. Boy, do we need the confidence of this woman in the lives of Christians in the church today.
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose my job, I lose my job.”
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose my friend, I lose my friend.”
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if lose my raise, I lose my raise."
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose the promotion, I lose the promotion.”
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose the starting position on the team, I lose the starting position on the team.”
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose my popularity, I lose my popularity."
We need people who will say, “I am going to take a stand for God and if I lose the election, I lose the election.”
But the truth is that we will never take a stand like Esther did until we truly believe that one person can make a difference. We will never take this stand until we understand that God has been at work behind the scenes in my life and maybe, just maybe, He has put me in the right place under the right circumstances for such a time as this! And in the weeks ahead we will see in the story of Esther the truth of Proverbs 21:1, “The kings heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
2 comments:
love that! this past Sunday was i think my fav sermon ive heard - very very thought provoking
WOW! Thanks, kutlessgirl! I appreciate the feedback and the encouragement very much!
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