God had a task for Esther
Sometimes there is something you have to do but it means you will have to step out in faith and do something that is very foreign and challenging to you. You know that it’s from God, but it’s hard. You don’t know what the outcome will be. You really don’t know what will happen and where you will be in the end.
In the Old Testament there is a whole book about Esther, a Jewish girl living in Persia. She was an orphan and was brought up by her cousin Mordecai. She was beautiful, and must have been quite young. When the king wanted to find a new queen, all the beautiful young women of the kingdom were to be brought to the royal palace. Esther left her childhood home and moved into the palace. Of all the beautiful young women there, King Ahasuerus made her queen.
It’s interesting to think about how Esther must have felt through all of this. There’s no doubt that as a young Jewish girl, this must have been different from everything known to her. She couldn’t have known how things would go. But God, as always, planned everything. He had a task for Esther to carry out; something she could not have done if she hadn’t left her old life behind her.
God’s perfect timing
While Esther was at the palace, her cousin Mordecai had offended a very powerful man in the kingdom of Ahasuerus, named Haman; Mordecai feared God and had refused to bow down before Haman. The result was that Haman became so angry that he convinced the king that all the Jews in the kingdom should be killed. The king didn’t know that his own queen was amongst these people and agreed to this wicked plan. How would God’s people survive this?
When you read the story you can see how perfectly timed everything was and how God put Esther and Mordecai in a position where He could use them to save His people from this destruction.
We don’t know what our future is, but we can trust that God is in perfect control. Jesus says that not a sparrow falls from the sky without God knowing about it. (Matthew 10:29.) We can believe that God plans and measures everything that happens to us very carefully, it is exactly what we need so that He can fulfill His plan for our lives. (Proverbs 3:5-6.)
Courage in the face of uncertainty
Esther and Mordecai came up with a plan but it meant that Esther had to put her own life in danger. She would go to the king and plead before him for her people. The law clearly said that anyone who approached the king without being called could be put to death, and she didn’t know if he would welcome her or not. But Mordecai convinced her and said, “Yet who knows--maybe it was for a time like this that you were made queen!” Esther 4:14 (GNT).
And Esther’s answer was, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. If I must die for doing it, I will die!” Esther 4:16 (GNT). That is faith!
Esther was an orphan who became queen of a kingdom. It took courage for her to fight for her people. It couldn’t have been easy; it is written that she fasted and prayed for three days before going to the king. And then she was obedient, even though she didn’t know what would happen. But it was more important for her to do what she needed to do. She trusted that God was in control.
Trust in God’s control
The outcome of Esther’s courage and trust in God was that Ahasuerus welcomed her when she approached him, he gave her what she asked, and the Jewish people were saved from destruction. The wicked Haman was hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai.
Learn to trust in God with your whole heart. Believe that He loves you so much that you can fully trust in His perfect guidance and wisdom for your life. Esther did it simply, and it went very well for her. You can also trust simply and take that step of faith! Be obedient to do the things that God asks and live a life of faith, even when it seems difficult!
Read the book of Esther in the Bible for the whole inspiring story!