"For such a time as this"
The book of Esther (found in the Old Testament) recounts the true story of a beautiful young Jewish girl who is taken from her uncle Mordecai, her guardian, into the harem of King Ahasuerus. After months of preparation, Esther is taken before the king, and he quickly falls in love with her and makes her his queen.
Not long after, Mordecai learns that one of the king's most powerful men, Haman, is plotting to exterminate all the Jews in the kingdom. Mordecai notifies Esther of Haman's plan and begs her to petition the king on behalf of her people. To do so, would mean Esther would have to go before the king without being summoned. Esther replies to Mordecai, that if she were to do that, she risked losing the king's favor as well as her life.
Mordecai answered back, "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther sent word back to Mordecai that she would pray and fast, then go before the king. Her final thought was, "If I perish, I perish." Esther prayed and fasted, then went before the king without being summoned, and she won his favor. In the end, Haman was killed, and the Jewish people were saved.
It was a horrible thing for Esther to be taken from her home as a young lady and banished to the harem of the king for the rest of her life. It was risky to go against the king's wishes. In short, the circumstances were not stacked in Esther's favor, and yet God placed her in those circumstances so an entire nation could be saved.
Recently I was talking to a friend about the difficult times in which we are living. The economy is bad, people are losing jobs, houses are foreclosing, the world is in turmoil. I t looks like we are heading into the worst depression this nation has ever faced, and war or revolution is probably just around the corner. It's down right depressing if you think about it too long. As we continued to talk, my friend reminded me of something her grandfather used to say, "You were made for your time." In other words, God didn't just drop us into existence in 2009, He made us just for the time in which we are living. My parents grew up during WWII, and my grandparents survived the Great Depression, and God gave them what they needed to survive it. It is no different for us.
How does that play out for us? How are we to live? Knowing that God made us for our time means that we need to readily accept from God's hand whatever He brings our way knowing it will ultimately accomplish His purposes. It means that we need to take our eyes off the misery and woe of our times and fix our eyes on God knowing nothing will come our way that hasn't passed through His hand first. It means we should get on our hands and knees and like Esther fast and pray and repent of our evil ways and believe in our God who never fails.
Ultimately, it is a privilege to live in the time in which we live, because we were made for it. If we cower and hide instead of trusting our God and boldly facing what He brings to us, we will miss out on the blessing. We will miss out on the closeness we could have had with Him.
God made us and put us here "for such a time as this".
Not long after, Mordecai learns that one of the king's most powerful men, Haman, is plotting to exterminate all the Jews in the kingdom. Mordecai notifies Esther of Haman's plan and begs her to petition the king on behalf of her people. To do so, would mean Esther would have to go before the king without being summoned. Esther replies to Mordecai, that if she were to do that, she risked losing the king's favor as well as her life.
Mordecai answered back, "For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther sent word back to Mordecai that she would pray and fast, then go before the king. Her final thought was, "If I perish, I perish." Esther prayed and fasted, then went before the king without being summoned, and she won his favor. In the end, Haman was killed, and the Jewish people were saved.
It was a horrible thing for Esther to be taken from her home as a young lady and banished to the harem of the king for the rest of her life. It was risky to go against the king's wishes. In short, the circumstances were not stacked in Esther's favor, and yet God placed her in those circumstances so an entire nation could be saved.
Recently I was talking to a friend about the difficult times in which we are living. The economy is bad, people are losing jobs, houses are foreclosing, the world is in turmoil. I t looks like we are heading into the worst depression this nation has ever faced, and war or revolution is probably just around the corner. It's down right depressing if you think about it too long. As we continued to talk, my friend reminded me of something her grandfather used to say, "You were made for your time." In other words, God didn't just drop us into existence in 2009, He made us just for the time in which we are living. My parents grew up during WWII, and my grandparents survived the Great Depression, and God gave them what they needed to survive it. It is no different for us.
How does that play out for us? How are we to live? Knowing that God made us for our time means that we need to readily accept from God's hand whatever He brings our way knowing it will ultimately accomplish His purposes. It means that we need to take our eyes off the misery and woe of our times and fix our eyes on God knowing nothing will come our way that hasn't passed through His hand first. It means we should get on our hands and knees and like Esther fast and pray and repent of our evil ways and believe in our God who never fails.
Ultimately, it is a privilege to live in the time in which we live, because we were made for it. If we cower and hide instead of trusting our God and boldly facing what He brings to us, we will miss out on the blessing. We will miss out on the closeness we could have had with Him.
God made us and put us here "for such a time as this".
Comments
And regardless of how bleak our times seem, we can always look (and not to far away) to see others doing it much harder. You remind me that God has placed me here in His wisdom. Now I must rise to the occasion!
Glad to read you again. I appreciate your posts even when they are well spaced.
Ruby
Blessings,
Rachel