Such A Time As This

Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai:

“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman

who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to

death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I

myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.”

So they told Mordecai Esther’s words. And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.

Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:10-16)

The start of a new year is a wonderful time for reflection, to look at the year past, and to create resolutions for the year ahead. A pandemic, quarantine, riots, wildfires, and division made 2020 difficult to love. We have seen much of the same in the first two weeks of 2021. It’s not easy to be excited for the future when life is hard, when your heart is crushed, or when the coming days look dark and uncertain. It’s not easy…but it’s possible. It’s possible when we completely trust God and believe that he is always at work, even when we can’t see it.

God's name is not mentioned once in the book of Esther but that doesn't mean God was absent. Esther teaches us that God is always at work, even in the middle of our mess or in the face of great tragedy, to accomplish His good and perfect plan. Esther was taken, not invited, into the king’s harem along with 400 other virgins. They were forced to spend a night with the king whenever he decided to summon them. After that night, they were kept as the king’s concubines and not allowed to return home. Esther’s parents had already died and she was taken from her guardian, Mordecai. She must have felt so alone and scared in an unfamiliar place with an uncertain future.

Esther was chosen to be the queen by King Xerxes following an elaborate beauty pageant but she was still being held captive. Around this same time, a decree was issued in Susa for the destruction of all Jews. Mordecai pleaded with Esther to go to the king and beg for his favor to save her people. Esther knew that if she went to the king without being summoned, she could be killed. Yet, she asks Mordecai to gather the Jews and have them fast and pray, and she promises to go to the king. At that moment, we know she is a woman of faith because she surrendered to God. Despite the fact that her world was crumbling and everyone was in despair, Esther decided to trust God’s promises.

God worked through Esther's dark days, her faithful obedience, and her victory of saving His people. It's easy to think that the book of Esther was all about Esther, but it’s actually all about God! While Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and King Xerxes all provide us with powerful lessons about pride, humility, selfishness, and anger, the ultimate lesson is about the faithfulness and sovereignty of God.

We are called to trust in God's providence even when there is injustice and suffering, when God seems to have abandoned us and nothing seems to make sense. Like Esther, we are also called to be bold in our faith and to stand for truth, His truth. What an amazing example Esther is of trusting in the Lord and knowing that He has a plan and a purpose for all of our lives. As we begin to plan and make resolutions for 2021, let us pray and give thanks, surrender our lives to the Lord, and be encouraged to step out with Esther's faithfulness because we were created for such a time as this.