For Such A Time As This: Finding Your Purpose in Esther's Story
What if your comfort is a trap? And what if God has positioned you, right now, for something far greater? We all want to be comfortable. But what if God's calling is uncomfortable? Esther's story challenges us to embrace the 'what if?'Esther is a book about a sovereign God, who would go to great lengths to overthrow those who would destroy His people.
With no mention or allusion to God, He’s seemingly absent. But He’s far from absent.
Israel was in foreign captivity around 100 years after its exile to Babylon, but some Jews had already begun returning to Jerusalem. King Cyrus had allowed them to return and rebuild (think the books of Ezra and Nehemiah), but many chose to stay where they were. This particular Jewish community was living in a Persian capital named Susa.
It's a familiar story…Esther rises to power as queen of Persia. Her Jewish identity is hidden from the king at the suggestion of her cousin and guardian, Mordecai. Meanwhile, one of the king’s officials, Haman, is insulted by Mordecai who won’t bow down to him. So Haman decides to get the king to destroy all of the Jews. It's a complete genocide based purely on pride.
This is where we find Mordecai and Esther. The people of God are facing certain death, and Mordecai asks Esther to approach the king to plead on behalf of the Jews knowing full well that if anyone approaches the king without his summons they are sentenced to death.
Mordecai responds to Queen Esther:“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 4:14
Although the name of God isn’t explicitly written in this book, the underlying current is God’s sovereignty and providence. God will deliver His people. Mordecai is sure of it. But he is suggesting to Esther that God might’ve placed her in this position as queen to use her to rescue them.
Esther may not have thought much of herself. After all:She was an orphan
Brought up by her cousin
An exile from her homeland
Her Hebrew name has been changed and forgotten
In a foreign palace surrounded by strangersHer saving grace was her physical appearance. She won favor with everyone because of the way she looked. That can make you feel like you have nothing of substance to offer…but God used that favor to position Esther as queen.Her position was not a mistake. Her position was providence.
"Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 'Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.'"
Esther 4:15-16
“If I die, I die”
She was faced with death either way. If she did nothing, the Jews would be annihilated, including her. If she broke protocol and approached the King, she would die.
We can look at this in one of two ways:
1. She was accepting her death.
She’s throwing her hands up and resigning herself to die along with everyone else. Might as well get it over with, right?
Or…
2. She was accepting her assignment.
She’s standing up tall in the confidence of a God who is sending her to face death itself. It’s not resignation but resistance. If she dies, she dies doing what God called her to.
There’s a big difference.
It all hinged on Mordecai’s question: “What if this is why you’re here right now, to deliver God’s people?” What if God has positioned you for this exact moment in time? What if?
Put yourself in Esther’s shoes. Pretend that you’ve never heard the story. Take a step back, zoom out, and consider what’s going on in real-time.
First, what’s going on with Israel at this time? Why didn’t everyone return to Jerusalem when they could? King Cyrus had given his blessing for them to no longer be considered exiles, but to return to their land and rebuild. Why didn’t they leave?
They were comfortable. They are choosing to remain in their current culture and kingdom rather than returning to their homeland.
Why? It’s easier to stay. To be comfortable. To abide quietly in the kingdom around you. Choosing convenience over freedom and blessing. God’s people were comfortable.
What does this look like today?
Maybe you’ve seen some “comfortable” Christianity:
Go to church most of the time
Read the bible when they have a problem or need advice
Pray in traffic and emergencies
Or worse:
Have a bible verse on their Facebook but tear others down online
Go to bible study but gossip with their friends
It’s a version of Christianity that looks and sounds like the culture around us. And it’s easy to do.
I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase: “We are in the world, not of it.” What verse is that? I couldn’t find it. Although, I’ve recited that phrase so many times myself. It’s because it's not a verse.
We get the idea from John 17 as Jesus is praying for believers right before his crucifixion:“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
John 17:14-19
The emphasis in these verses is more that we are “not of the world.” But we are “sent into the world.”
I think it’s important for us to recognize that first and foremost we aren’t from here. We didn’t start “in this world.”
We, like Jesus, are not of this world but of another, a greater world, a heavenly kingdom.
It’s not that we happen to be here “in this world"--not as if we are hanging out, trapped, with no purpose. No, we were sent here. Just like God sent His son Jesus into the world, we were sent.
Saying that we are “in the world but not of it” almost feels like we’re saying, we have to be here but we’re actually above it. It’s the wrong attitude. We were sent here with a purpose, not dropped here on accident.
This helps us not to get distracted by the culture around us. If we approach this world as a place we were sent to serve, it changes how we live. So, instead of being comfortable here, allowing our culture to wash over us, we become representatives of a heavenly kingdom.
In Esther’s situation, God’s people found themselves in a comfortable position. Until they weren’t. Suddenly, the Jews became enemy #1 of the Persian empire. All because of a government official named Haman and his inferiority complex.“After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?”
And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.”
Esther 3:1-6
The Jews had an enemy in Haman. It’s important to note that Haman was an Agagite. He descends from the line of King Agag of the Amalekites. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because they were a long-time enemy of Israel dating back to Moses. Israel had run-ins with them for generations. (Not to get into all of the dirty details, but King Agag was hacked to death by Samuel). This was a big enemy in the eyes of God.
It can be hard for us to grasp this level of enmity. Most of us don’t have experience in battle or war, we don’t have a generations-long feud with a lineage.
So when we read of enemies in scripture, we tend to think of:
Our boss
Our husband’s ex-wife
Our friend who betrayed us
Our noisy neighbor
Or maybe even:
Democrats
Republicans
Outsiders
Criminals
Even a specific gender
Who is our enemy? It’s not who you think. It’s not each other.“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12
Our enemy is not each other. Our enemy is not a person or group of people. Our enemy is this present darkness. Spiritual forces of evil. Our enemy is THE enemy.
And that enemy loves to get us looking at each other instead. It’s easier to point fingers at those we can see. If he can get us worked up and worried about the people who are “against us,” then we aren’t able to fight the true enemy of our souls.
What’s worse, our culture uses this tactic too. The media, the government, and even marketing companies build entire campaigns on “us vs. them.” They play on our fear, our insecurity, and our emotions by pitting us against each other. Division is more successful than unity.
And it goes against the Kingdom we are sent to represent."The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."
John 17:22-23
He specifically prays for unity. If we as believers are unified, the world will take notice. If we want the world to know that Jesus came to die for them and that God loves them, we must be unified.
So we can’t be surprised that the enemy is trying to divide.
Now, the stage is set in the story. Do you feel the tension? Do you feel the weight of the situation?
God’s people have been comfortable, distracted even. Now, they have a great enemy who desires to see their end. Esther is found positioned in the King’s palace in the face of death.
Queen Esther approaches the King’s court as he sits on the throne:“And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.”
Esther 5:2-3
The king’s favor was a reflection of God’s favor. Esther’s willingness to use her position to partner with God’s providence was rewarded. After a series of strategic events and prophetic reversals, Esther is finally ready to present her request to the king:“Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”
Esther 7:3-4
The king demands to know who did this, and as Esther names Haman, the wicked enemy, the king storms out in anger.
The story ends with Haman’s death, praise for Mordecai and Esther, and a decree for the Jews to defend themselves against any enemy. And for fear of God’s people, and the Jews’ defenses, no one could stand against them. A feast was inaugurated that day to celebrate relief from their enemies. An entire generation was saved through the obedience of Mordecai and Esther.
But there’s still a tension for us today. We are fighting comfortability in a culture. We are fighting an enemy who wants to divide.
What if this is the time for you? Mordecai asked Esther, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" “For such a time as this” means now. The time is now. Today.
God wants to use you, but He doesn’t have to. Remember, He can deliver his people another way.
We get to choose to be a part of God’s plan or not. We get to choose if we’re going to consider ourselves “sent.” Or we can choose to stay comfortable.
But what an invitation to join God in what He’s doing!“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore” means because of those who have gone before us, who have faced even more than we’ve faced, including Esther...
We are surrounded right now by these witnesses. Those who have chosen to be used by God. Not with perfect histories, clean bills of health, or pretty scenarios, but those who chose what God was doing over their comfort.
“Therefore, let us also…”
#1 - Throw off weights and sins.
What are some weights?
Fear
Insecurity
Doubt
Anxiety
Discouragement
Distraction
What about sins?
Pride
Idolatry
Impurity
Deceit
Hate
We are to throw off those weights and sins.
And then...
#2 - Run with endurance
As believers, we are called to persevere. We are a perservering people. We will be known by our endurance.
Don’t quit.
Here’s the deal: running is hard. It’s easy to want to stop, to check out, or to take a break, even. Maybe you feel like you’ve run long enough, that there are people behind you who can run better or faster, so you want to call it quits.
Let me encourage you; you’re not done yet. If you’re still alive and breathing, you’ve still got a race to run. Those of us behind you need you. We need to see you ahead of us, still going. We need the trails that you’re blazing so we don’t get lost. There’s still more for you to do.
Maybe you feel like it’s too hard to keep running this race. The enemy is loud, the sin is deep, and you’re beaten down.
I’ll say this: it is hard. Narrow is the path. It’s hard to stay on it. And everything is against you. I know.
So how do we do it?
Verse 2 says, “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith...”
#3 - Look to Jesus.
This is the only way to do it. The only way to keep going and not quit. We run in the direction of our gaze. So we look to Jesus, keep our eyes fixed on Him, and stay locked into His word.
This part matters so much and I’m very passionate about this:
I believe now more than ever we need to be planted in Christ. Not just nearby, not on the surface, not in our bios—but planted. Deep roots. Thick and heavy roots.
We need to know God’s Word. We need to know Him and what He says, who He is, and what He wants us to do. Not just a verse memorized or bible study attended, but a deep knowing of His Word. We need an indwelling knowledge of God’s character because we know God’s words.
There will come a time when our beliefs are challenged even more than they are today. It’s easy to get swept up in the media, politics, or culture of the day. That’s what they want so that’s how they target us! The enemy wants you to be confused, scared, and divided.
We need to settle what we know and believe about what God says. Not what the government says, not what a leader says, and not what a news outlet says, but what God says. And the more we know what we believe, the more secure we are in fighting what’s wrong in the world.
It genuinely starts with us. We must allow God to dwell with us and change us. And the more you press into Him and His Word, the more you’ll want to. You’ll crave it. You’ll require it each day.
So, we look to Jesus, and we look at what he endured.
The rest of verse 2 says, “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
When we consider what Jesus endured for us, we can endure. Jesus endured the cross for us. He took our sin upon himself. And through indescribable pain and suffering, He paid the price for us. This is our example of endurance.
I know that it can feel exhausting, and overwhelming and that we can’t keep going. I know it can feel like someone else will
come along and do it. I know it can feel like we aren’t the woman for the job, or that the job isn’t that important. But the story of Esther tells us otherwise.
I truly believe this: God has placed you, specifically you, in this space in time for a divine purpose. Let’s not miss it.P. S. I've partnered with Callie Holland of No One Told Me Podcast to relaunch the show after a year-long hiatus. Listen to our new season, including daily devotional-style episodes updated each week on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!What I’m Using:
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