For Such a Time as This.

And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." Esther 4: 14-16 (NIV)

Esther was a young girl, a very young girl in fact. This book calls her a virgin, which in that time meant a girl of a young age. If you read in chapter 2 it talks of how Esther immediately gained the respect of the King's man in charge of the women, and it says he gave her all the best things that he could. Now looking back with hindsight, we can see the hand of God even when no one was aware of it; how God was putting into place the pieces of Esther's journey. It never seemed like Esther ever doubted or questioned God and what He did, maybe it was because she was a woman and the men were the ones who discussed God, or maybe it was that she, even at that young age, trusted in God. This trust and reliance is displayed greatly in the above dialogue. Mordecai tells her that maybe for such a time as this she was in that position, that at the right time God had orchestrated her life in order that she may save the Jews of the kingdom. It's easy to assume that when Mordecai said what he said that it was not just wishful thinking but in fact crediting God; because he was a Jew, and the Jews had the understanding that the whole earth is God's and everything in it is God's as well and that He had a personal role in the life of His people. With that understanding in mind it's easy to see why Esther responded the way she did; she knew Mordecai wasn't just being hopeful but was actually speaking God's truth, that God had placed her there for that time, to do that task, and she was willing to die if that was what it meant. She says "if I perish, I perish." She had grasped the selfless perspective of Jesus, that it is not always about her. She was placed in authority not for her gain, but for the gain of her people. Not knowing how it would turn out, she bravely stepped before the King, her life on the line. She did what God had placed her to do and, as we know, the Jews were saved.

Your life is "a for such a time as this" kind of life. God has you here and now for a purpose greater than you can probably imagine. Do you think that Esther thought the fate of the Jews rested on her? I assume not. When she first became Queen do you think she put it together that she was gaining authority for that reason? The same is with many of us, we can't see the big picture, only what is in front of our nose. We need to trust in the God that is bigger than us. You were created for such a time as this, to help that certain person, cause, country. To effect change in someone or something. Your life right now isn't a mistake! Hear the words of Mordecai, "for such a time as this..". You are here for some purpose, are you living like it? Are you willing to risk it all like Esther? God is faithful to see you through it, be faithful to Him. You don't know whose life hangs on yours, whose salvation God is calling you too...

"For if you remain silent at this time...you and your father's family will perish" Esther 4:14(NIV)