Esther: Silent but Sovereignনমুনা

'… who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?’ (v. 14). Mordecai wasn’t content to let Esther live a quiet, complacent life in the palace. He wanted her to make a difference. He believed that God had equipped Esther with everything she needed to impact the situation the Jews were in and he challenged her to follow his example of courageous leadership. 

If you’re a parent, do you desire this same level of commitment from your children? Do you want your child to impact their situations for Jesus regardless of what it might cost them in terms of respect, popularity, or academic achievement? 

Are you encouraging younger Christians that you know to make a difference? How are you teaching them to stand up for Jesus and desire His honor above their own reputations? 

Mordecai’s faith in God encouraged him to expect great things of Esther. Our faith should encourage us to expect Him to do great things through us and through those we disciple. We should pray for godly strength and a courageous spirit both for ourselves and other Christians. 

Think about your own places of influence and the people you regularly spend time with: your family; your friends; your work; church; your community; your gym; the school gate; the bus or train you catch regularly; your dentist, doctor, hairdresser, postman ... Where has God placed you so that you can make a difference? Are you ready to speak and act? God doesn’t need us to accomplish His purposes. There are other people He could use. His plans won’t be frustrated because we won’t speak or act. But if we don’t, we may miss out on the privilege and blessing of being involved in His work. 

In his book Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper writes, 

You don’t have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, perhaps just one, and then be willing to live for them and die for them. The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by one great thing.

The apostle Paul had been ‘mastered’ by the gospel of Jesus. He wrote to the church in Philippi, ‘For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain’ (Phil. 1:21). Paul lived to serve Jesus and His kingdom; nothing else mattered to him.

Reflection

Is the gospel of Jesus the ‘one great thing’ that has mastered you? 

Do you believe that you have been placed by God in every situation you’re now in ‘for such a time as this’?