Contact
Resources
October 2011 DevotionalIt Is Our Time
Queen Esther faced a decision. She could keep silent and save her own life. She feared to approach the king uninvited. To approach uninvited could mean death. Eastern kings were known for their quick judgments resulting in life or death decisions. The king had already removed one queen for her refusal to obey his command. What would prevent him from ordering her execution if she violated protocol? Her silence might save her own life but what of the life of her people? The Jewish people were destined to a genocidal destruction throughout the Persian Empire because of the wicked hatred of Haman. No one but Esther could speak up for them. Even that might not do any good but it was the only present hope. It is at this point Mordecai, her uncle, made the statement we read. In a short story that does not even use the name, “God,” Mordecai’s statement is a tremendous commentary on the sovereignty of God. There are also some important truths here with regard to becoming involved with pro-life issues.
We must realize the same is true for us. God will complete His Plan but will we be with God or work against God? Will we be a vessel He can use or one which must be set aside? 1 Timothy 2:4 teaches us that it is God’s desire that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. You can believe God and come to Him the only way He demands—by faith, believing on His Son, Jesus Christ, Who died for your sin. You can also choose not to believe God. God’s will is still accomplished. You will die in your sins and be eternally judged for it. God’s will is not thwarted because you choose to disobey. In the case of pro-life issues and the saving of souls, let the believer be WITH God, not resisting His will. God is on the side of life. The unborn and the feeble are created in His image. His will is to save them. This is our time to stand for Him. A second truth in this passage is not only that God has a Divine Plan but also that God primarily accomplishes His Plan through people and circumstances. The story of Esther is one which makes a fascinating drama. A drunken king angrily removes his queen. His loneliness leads him to choose a new queen (Esther). A Jewish man in his kingdom saves the king’s life and is forgotten until just the right moment. A king’s sleeplessness is the cause of this king recollecting the service of this Jewish man. The crisis is averted because God has placed all the people in the right places at the right time. He even used unbelievers to achieve His will. What we must see is that God can use us in the same way. Our faithfulness is so crucial to being a positive part of the fulfillment of God’s plan. God will be glorified through us or in spite of us but we are blessed when He works through us. The members of the church are shown in Scripture to be the arms and hands and the legs and feet of the Body of Christ. He accomplishes His work through the believer. Among the many ministries the church has is that of reaching the lost and helping the afflicted (Acts 5:16; 1 Tim. 5:10). The majority who walk into the doors of a pregnancy care center are lost and are experiencing affliction. God uses people (us) to minister to them. A third truth in this story is God will accomplish His Plan even if His servants refuse to obey. As indicated earlier, Mordecai told Esther even if she holds her peace God will deliver His people, but she will miss the blessing. “Thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed.”
Our efforts to save lives and souls will make a difference in us. God calls us to be faithful. He rewards, not on the basis of ability, but on the faithfulness. We shall give an account before Him one day. Furthermore, we personally touch the lives of many others that God would use us to reach. The last truth we note is God’s Plan does not operate according our timing. The story of Esther takes place over a twelve year period. God was planning for resolving the crisis long before anyone knew there would be a crisis. While we want instant results, we often cannot measure the results of our actions until years and even sometimes long after lifetimes have passed. Slavery in the United States was not abolished until after the Civil War. But there were reformers working to end it even before the United States became a nation. While England refused to allow the colonies to abolish slavery, the attempts were being made. After independence many states abolished slavery. Congress passed laws not allowing slavery in new territories. It took longer than the lifetimes of many reformers to finally end slavery, but it did eventually happen. To us it sometimes seems like the wicked are winning but we must see all things through the eyes of faith. In a moral conflict whoever is on God’s side is on the winning side. Friend, let us realize that to be on God’s side means to be faithfully serving Him in righteousness. Sitting on the sidelines means being set aside at best, or being a hindrance at worst. May we like Esther realize this is “our time” to save lives. Pastor Dan Stertz |
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14)
The first truth is that we are reminded that God has a Divine Plan for the world. Mordecai’s statement declared that even if Esther did nothing the Jews would be delivered in another way. If she did not speak up there would come a deliverance for the Jews from some other place. He also pointed to God’s sovereignty in that she may have come to her position just for this moment in time.
One might be tempted to say, “Well then it doesn’t matter what I do if God works out His plan another way.” Yes it does matter. While God’s will is ultimately accomplished what we do or don’t do affects ourselves and those we influence. Esther’s silence would mean she and her family would die when it was learned she was a Jew. Furthermore many other Jews would probably have died. Ultimately God would prevent them from being completely wiped out because of His promise to Abraham, but how many lives would be lost up to that point?