For Such A Time As This

Esther 4:14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

We are now about 18 months into this pandemic. We are just now coming out of a time of social distancing and in some cases, quarantined to our homes. If there was ever a time to get down and out, it would have been over these last 18 months. Although, now that we can emerge from our homes again, there is a whole new set of challenges. Do we wear a mask, do we get the vaccination, do we travel yet, do our kids wear masks to school, there are a whole host of questions we need to ask ourselves. Also, just the fact that we can be out around other people is stressing some out. Eighteen months stuck in a house has given many social anxiety and they are not sure about going out and being around others now. This could be a time when we just want to say forget it all and stay in our homes. However, I am going to challenge you not to give into the temptation to just give up or to give in to your negative emotions.

God has been preparing us for such a time. There is a story in the Bible about Esther. She was a young Jewish woman who found favor with the king and became the queen. Her uncle Mordecai adopted her as his own when she was young, as both parents died. Mordecai had told Esther before meeting the king, not to reveal that she was Jewish, and she listened. This story tells about how a powerful vizier to the king, named Haman, wanted to kill all the Jews living in the Persian Empire in one day. You see, he was angry because Mordecai refused to bow down to him. Mordecai explained he only bows down to God and this angered Haman—who told the king that there were people living throughout his kingdom that did not obey the same laws of the king and that he should not tolerate them. He convinced the king to issue a decree that would destroy the Jews and upon doing so, Haman agreed to put ten thousand silver talents into the royal treasury.

When the Jewish people heard, they went into mourning with prayer and fasting. Mordecai got word to Esther and explained the situation. He asked Esther to talk to her husband, the king, and beg for the lives of her people to be spared. Esther explained that if anyone goes in front of the king while he is in the inner courtroom without being summoned, they will suffer immediate death unless he offers them the end of the scepter. Mordecai wrote back the following in Esther 4:14 “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”. Esther risked her life to go in front of the king and because of her bravery she saved her people, God’s people.

We do not usually know why we end up where we end up or why we go through the things that we go through. God is a mystery and only he knows what he is doing. He can see the whole picture, past, present and future. We can only see the past and present. I heard a quote once that I really liked and found comforting when I was going through some hard times. The quote said, “You were assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved.” I found it comforting to think that by my making it through the situation it would show others that they could make it through too. I also used the quote in reverse and thought, “Ok, then I just need to look for someone who has made it through this type of situation to show me that I could make it through as well.” There is a song by Christina Perri that’s called "I Believe." In that song she says, “I believe that you fell so that you would land next to me.”

Have you ever been in a situation and you can just tell that God arranged it? Sometimes, we can tell what God is doing. Sometimes, we can feel it in our bones that we are exactly where we were meant to be at that precise moment. God placed us here in this moment, and what if everything we have done up to this moment has been getting us ready for this pandemic? What if all the scripture readings we have done, bible studies and prayer groups we have attended, and all the praying we have done was specifically to help us get through these tough times. What if all those days at the gym, long walks, or yoga classes were to prepare us for the mental and physical challenges of these past few months? What if all the past experiences we have had with friends and families and coworkers were to prepare us for this extraordinary time in history?

Take a few minutes and think of all the experiences you have had in your life that have taught you persistence and resilience. Can you see how they may have been preparing you for all of this? Think about your qualities, strengths, what do you have to offer in this difficult time. If God placed you here and made you exactly who you are for such a time as this, why did he do this? What is it that you, with your unique background and experiences can offer to others at this time? Maybe you are really great at reaching out to people and making sure they are ok, or maybe you write really great poetry and it can help give people hope and make them smile right now. Maybe you are really great at praying for others and can hold us all in prayer right now. I don’t know what your circumstance is, but I do know that if we lean in to God during this difficulty he will lead us through it. Look at the circumstances the Israelites were facing when God led them out of Egypt. There are so many examples in the Bible of really hard times and yet when his people called, God saved them. So, let’s call out for him, and while we are waiting let us ask ourselves why God has put us here in such a time as this.

Dear Heavenly Father I ask that you bless all those listening to this podcast today. Lord we thank you for making us whoever you made us to be. We thank you for all of the training you've given us up until this point in everything you help us to learn in the future. Lord we ask that you show us what it is that we are good at, what it is that we can contribute in this difficult time. We ask that you are with everyone that struggling right now. Lord we ask that you give us the strength and perseverance to keep going. We ask that you show us those that have come before us they have overcome similar circumstances and give us the knowledge that we too can overcome the circumstances. Lord you are amazing and we're so very thankful for all you do for us. We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus is holy name, Amen.