“For if you
remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for
the Jews from another place”
Esther 4:14 (NKJV)
This was the
advice that Mordecai gave to Esther when he asked her to go in front of the
king. Mordecai didn’t ask her to do it for him or herself, but to go before the
king for the Jews. There was a decree put into place that ordered all the Jews
to be killed and Mordecai hoped that the Queen, Esther, would be able to appeal
before the King to repeal it. To do this, Esther would have to break a law and
be forgiven by the King or else she would be executed.
I have
always read this Bible story and loved the idea of someone stepping into harm’s
way to protect their people; risking everything for others. But when I read
this verse over I realized I misunderstood a crucial thing. I used to think of
her as the Jews’ only hope and last effort for survival, but that isn’t true.
God didn’t need Esther, He wanted to use her.
This brings
me back to the first week of IGNITE. The first message I heard from my Pastor
after joining the IGNITE program was on God’s handiwork and how God uses people
to mold and shape us as Christians. One thing he said to me that has stuck is
that God wants to use all of us as tools in His work, but He does not need all
of us to complete His work. If God wanted to reach someone, He doesn’t have to
use a specific person to do this but He does desire a specific person to do it.
God wanted
to use Esther, but didn’t need her to bring deliverance to the Jews. God uses
Mordecai to say to Esther here is God’s calling for you, pursue it, but if you
don’t step toward it God will appoint someone else to the calling.
To apply
this to my life, I am going to pray to God to show me His path for my life, not
the path that is what I desire.
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