Pursuing His Will

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise 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, ESV

How can you not love the story of Esther!? What a remarkable and memorable line from Mordecai there in verse 14, probably one of the most memorable lines from the story for most people. I have been pouring over this story for a week, preparing and analyzing every detail for a paper that I am finishing up today. There are just so many great elements to this narrative, which makes it tough to focus on just a few in these brief paragraphs.

Let me start by explaining some background to the story. The year timeframe is 483 B.C. – 473 B.C., located in the city of Susa, in the province of Persia. This narrative is recored during the reign of King Ahasuarus (Xerxes in Greek) who is a descendant of King Darius I, who, insisted on rebuilding the Jewish temple after the Babylonians destroyed it in 587 B.C. The Jews were oppressed and in exile, in need of deliverance and relief from their oppressors.

Enter ➡️ Esther & Mordecai. Readers of this narrative will recognize that God is not directly mentioned in the text, however, it becomes increasingly evident that God is the over-arching hero in this story. Mordecai plays a huge part in this story as one of the protagonists along with Esther being the main protagonist. He takes a humble position sitting at the King’s gate (Esther 2) and assists Esther as she is involved in her Queenly duties. He also encourages Esther to bring the issue of Haman’s decree to have the Jews killed by issuing his famous line, “for such a time as this” (Esther 4).

Then Esther responds with her famous line, “if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). In these times, making an appearance before the king without being summoned or requested was a punishable offense, even unto death! Esther’s unwavering courage to approach the king is incredibly remarkable, as she in a very vivid way, is willing to stare death in the face and say “you don’t scare me, my God is bigger.”

There is SO MUCH more that I could write, as I LOVE this story. But I’ll leave you with this to ponder:

What has God called you to by which you need to assume (or take on) unwavering courage like Esther?

How will you be unwavering, standing firm in the confidence of God’s providence in this season of your life?

(p.s. I may continue the story in my next post..)

Blessings,

Wayde