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Esther 4:13-16
The Message (MSG)
12-14 When Hathach told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai sent her this message: “Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.”
A few weeks ago, my Pastor asked me to prepare to teach Bible Study on Esther, which I did yesterday. I studied and meditated on what God would have me to share with the people and the lesson on Esther and Vashti, in my opinion, was good! I made it through the days of preparation and the majority of the lesson, but at the end as we were about to close, I asked if anyone wanted to share what they had gotten from the lesson. My husband began to share his takeaway and it was during his sharing that I realized I-I-I was being rebuked! Not by him, lol, but by the Holy Spirit. My husband shared, in so many words, that just as Mordecai had to remind Esther that her position offered her no protection God sometimes has to send people to remind us that we have work to do; that we have purpose to fulfill; that we weren't placed in our current position so we could get complacent and watch as people are hurting. God sends people to remind us to move! God sends people to remind us that there is MORE for us to do! All I could do was laugh as I settled into my rebuking and I'm thankful for the rebuke that reminded me that I have to step up to the plate and do the tough things and have the hard conversations because 1) silence in my position offers no protection and 2) I may have been positioned here "for such a time as this." Today I resolve to *sigh* do the things that I shy away from doing because of the threat of losing my "position." So I challenge you, today, as you go throughout YOUR day, ask God to grant you wisdom and strength to do what you need to do and what God would have you do in order to help save your people. If you won't do it, someone else WILL be raised to do it, BUT you may not even be around to see it done. Ask for boldness to carry an attitude like Esther when she decided she would do her part. Say to yourself what Esther said, "and if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16)
A few weeks ago, my Pastor asked me to prepare to teach Bible Study on Esther, which I did yesterday. I studied and meditated on what God would have me to share with the people and the lesson on Esther and Vashti, in my opinion, was good! I made it through the days of preparation and the majority of the lesson, but at the end as we were about to close, I asked if anyone wanted to share what they had gotten from the lesson. My husband began to share his takeaway and it was during his sharing that I realized I-I-I was being rebuked! Not by him, lol, but by the Holy Spirit. My husband shared, in so many words, that just as Mordecai had to remind Esther that her position offered her no protection God sometimes has to send people to remind us that we have work to do; that we have purpose to fulfill; that we weren't placed in our current position so we could get complacent and watch as people are hurting. God sends people to remind us to move! God sends people to remind us that there is MORE for us to do! All I could do was laugh as I settled into my rebuking and I'm thankful for the rebuke that reminded me that I have to step up to the plate and do the tough things and have the hard conversations because 1) silence in my position offers no protection and 2) I may have been positioned here "for such a time as this." Today I resolve to *sigh* do the things that I shy away from doing because of the threat of losing my "position." So I challenge you, today, as you go throughout YOUR day, ask God to grant you wisdom and strength to do what you need to do and what God would have you do in order to help save your people. If you won't do it, someone else WILL be raised to do it, BUT you may not even be around to see it done. Ask for boldness to carry an attitude like Esther when she decided she would do her part. Say to yourself what Esther said, "and if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16)
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