Born for Such a Time as This

Reflect:

In our last devotion, we saw how Esther’s courage came from the beauty of obedience. She was obedient to God and to her uncle and mentor, Mordecai. However, like many of us, her “yes” to her call still came with a little excuse and hesitation.

In Esther 4, Esther learned of Haman’s plot to kill the Jews. Mordecai had sent her a copy of the edict that had been issued by the king, requesting her to plead on the Jew’s behalf (verse 8). Yet Esther did not jump at the chance to save her people. She told Mordecai that she could die if she went to the king unsummoned unless he would hold out his golden scepter to show his favor. She also told her uncle that she hadn’t been summoned in thirty days, adding to her excuse.

Mordecai replied to this by reminding her that she would not be spared from the genocide. He acknowledged that help could come from someplace else but she would still likely die. He then challenged her with the question, “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?’”

Truly, as it is written in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time for everything. There is a time to speak and a time to stay silent (Eccl 3:7b). For Esther, it would seem that this was the time to speak. And, from the events that followed in the succeeding chapters, we saw that Esther was indeed put in the place of royalty by God for a great reason – to save her generation of Jews from the genocide planned at the time.

Respond:

With what is happening around you – in your family, in your workplace, in your community – ask God whether He has placed you at a certain position so that you could have the platform to speak as Esther did. If you believe you have been “born for such a time as this”, ask and receive the courage, obedience, and grace to do what He has been calling you to do to make a difference.