The Jews of the kingdom faced a death sentence. Due to the evil influence of one man, they woke to the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day.

One hope remained—Esther, the new queen, and unknown to the king, also a Jew. Her uncle Mordecai sent her this message:

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, in one of the bravest acts recorded in scripture, risked her life to approach the king and save the day. The twists and turns of her story read like a movie script. The Lord used Esther to both save and bless her people.

I don’t face such dramatic circumstances, and hopefully never will. But I believe that each one of us was born to some purpose. You and I live in a time where we need to act, to step forward to help or guide or influence another.

I’m tempted to stay quiet when speaking feels risky, or to melt into the crowd rather than raise my hand. The Japanese have a saying—the tallest blade of grass is the first one that gets cut—and I’d rather not get cut. And why should I speak in our world where everyone jabbers all the time anyway?

For such a time as this. In my life this works much more simply. I might be listening to someone, and feel a nudge to respond in a way that feels risky or uncomfortable. Perhaps that nudge is from the Spirit, and I need to speak up with truth and grace. Or I see a need that I could meet, and I just go do it. Not pause and talk myself out of it, as tempting as that sounds.

Mordecai prodded Esther to act. I need to ask myself—where is the Holy Spirit prodding me?

Esther 4 in week forty-eight of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by William Krause