Esther

Such a Time as This

“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this”

Esther 4:14

None of us had a choice in the timing or location of our entrance into this world. We didn’t choose our parents, siblings, ethnicity, country, body shape, eye colour or natural talents. We weren’t consulted about any of these and many other things. The same was true for Esther yet she found herself in a position to affect the future of a dispersed nation. Her cousin, Mordecai, was also in such a position and he took it by the horns. His life was under threat already and he asked Esther to place her own life in jeopardy as well. He reminded her that if she did nothing she would die anyway and she would lose the opportunity to have this vital role in her people’s future.

You and I are here in this world where we are and in this time not of our choosing but, like Esther, God has prepared and placed us for such a time as this. The question we face is the same as that which Esther faced. Will we take the opportunity God has given us and use it to preserve His people and to save others?

To the faithful church in Philadelphia Jesus said, “I know your works. See I have set before you and open door, and no one will shut it; for you have a little strength, kept My word, and have not denied My name” (Revelation 3:8). The circumstances in which we find ourselves are, for those who are faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, an open door for ministry to others who belong to Christ and for sharing the Gospel of Christ with others. Yes, there is the possibility of an undesirable reaction from some. Esther put her earthly life on the line. Let us remember that Jesus didn’t just put His life on the line for us, He gave His life as a ransom for us. We know the outcome for Esther and Mordecai but when they were making their choices they didn’t know what they might suffer or what the outcome would be. That is where we are too but “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). We are here in this world, placed where we are with the preparation the Lord has given us, with an open door before us. All that remains is for us to choose whether we will serve Him or not. James tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:20). Genuine faith in Jesus Christ is will be seen in how we minister to one another and reach out to others in such a time as this.

His Hour

“So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them – walking, leaping, and praising God”

Acts 3:8

This man had been lame from birth (Acts 3:2) and he was now forty years old (Acts 4:22). This was his hour in which God would be glorified through him. He had been at the temple gate every day of his adult life enduring this affliction and begging for daily sustenance. Peter, John and even Jesus would have passed him many times before. He could have asked why he had to put up with years of lameness and begging when he could have been healed earlier.

He didn’t think about what might have been or accuse God of being unfair. He had been delivered from his lameness and was now free to rejoice in his new liberty. What a ridiculous sight it would have been if he had returned to his begging clothes and mat to beg again. No longer would he rely on the generosity of others. Now he would be able to work and provide for himself.

We who have received the Lord Jesus Christ have been set free from a much greater affliction, that of sin that binds us under Satan’s power and the inevitable consequence of death. We have no reason to accuse God. It is for this hour that we are here to glorify God and our history has brought us to this hour. Mordecai said to Esther, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

Instead of concerning ourselves about what might have been we can walk with Jesus and leap in faith praising God that we are in His time. The hour of our salvation may now be some time in the past and we have experienced many things that have been either pleasant or unpleasant; but through them the Lord has brought us to this hour. All that is passed in our lives has brought us to this hour for God’s glory. We won’t return to the begging mat of sin but we will do what we could not do before – serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

The lame man did not know that his hour to glorify God had come until it came – and neither will we.

When other people recognised this man walking, leaping and praising God as the one who had been lame they were ready to hear Peter proclaim Christ. This unnamed man who endured forty years of lameness became the opportunity for the Gospel to be proclaimed. His hour came. He is not complaining. He is still praising God.

For Such a Time as This

“If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish”

Esther 4:14

None of us had any say as to when and where we were born, or who our parents or ancestors would be, or any other factors that have shaped our lives. They were solely the sovereign will of God. The Lord has placed us here and now with innate, gifted, earned and learned resources for His purpose.

The words of Mordecai to Esther have application to us in relation to our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. It makes no difference our age, parentage, skills or talents. We have all been placed here for just such a time as this and, like Esther, we must decide to fill or refuse the role Jesus has given us.

We may not be happy with all our circumstances; but we are here, at this time and place at the will of God. The Bible is insistent that we are not here as spectators but as Christ’s ministers. There is no age where we begin or cease to be Christ’s ministers. If we are born of God, we are His ministers. Our role may change through our lives, but it only ends on relocation to Christ’s presence.

God will achieve His plan but, like Esther, we have a choice as to whether we take our part. There may be sad consequences to our families if we refuse to take our role. When a parent refuses to respond to the Lord’s call on their life they teach their child that it is okay to ignore the Lord’s will. We must seriously consider what we are teaching our children by our actions or lack thereof.

As Mordecai went on to say, “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b). We are where we are, at the time we are, with the resources we have, at the will of God. It would be foolish to cling to that which we must leave behind and forsake Him.

Let us ask the Lord to heal the deafness that prevents us hearing His call, and the blindness that prevents us seeing the open door He has placed before us. Just as He chose where and when we were born He has a path of ministry for everyone who is born of God. “Every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:8). Let us ask Him, seek His will and knock on His door for His response. Let us fulfil His will for our lives today – for this is the day He has given us.

“Right on Time”

“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

At just the right time Jesus came into the world to take away the sin of all people. The prophetic passages in the Old Testament gave warning to anyone who was listening when Messiah would come. The men from the east knew the timing and came to see the young child, Jesus. He came just at the right time, the time of God’s appointment.

As we come to Christmas we may reflect on that much more but there are some other considerations that should encourage us and bring joy to our hearts.

Since Jesus’ first coming was at just the right time, should we expect that His second coming will be any different? Of course not! His second coming will come at just the right time and that time will be in accord with the prophetic passages of the Bible. His second coming will be just as His first in this respect – at just the right time.

There are plenty of passages in the Bible that give information concerning the timing of Jesus’ second coming. In brief, Jesus said that we may know the season but not the date.

Since “God sent forth His Son” at just the right time, is it too big a leap for us to believe that He also brought us into the world at just the right time?

My wife sometimes fantasises that she should have lived in the mansions of Europe a couple of hundred years ago until she realises that she might not have been the daughter of a wealthy landowner but maybe the scullery maid in that mansion. We may fantasise these things with some enjoyment but in reality we know that God brought us into the world at just the right time for His glory and purpose.

Since God is the God of the Bible this seems quite reasonable but then that leads us to take it another step. Since we are in the world now by God’s appointment, the circumstances in which we find ourselves today are also God’s appointment for us. They are meant firstly for His glory and secondly for our good. They will always reveal His glory but whether we receive the benefit God intended will depend on our reception and response to the circumstances.

Mordecai knew the reality of this when he said to Esther, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). This reality was the motivation that Esther needed to risk her life for her people.

There have been many occasions when we know that we have had a “divine appointment”; but the reality is is that there have been countless more that we have not recognised. Indeed the very timing of our lives on earth is just the right time appointed by God. Accepting this must surely have an impact on our attitude and manner of life.

Jesus came for a purpose at His first coming and He will come for a purpose at His second coming. Both occasions are just at the right time. God has also placed each of us in the world at just the right time for His glory and purpose. The prime purpose is that we “may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:10). Like Esther, we will only see the specifics as we come to them but that in no way diminishes the fact that God has brought us into the world at just the right time – His right time.