“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
She lived smack in the center of the world superpower of her day. The immense Persian Empire had conquered what was thought to be the invincible Babylonian Empire. In the middle of this great worldly power struggle, she found herself an orphan, a woman, an exile. She could hardly have felt more helpless or powerless.
Have you ever felt helpless and powerless? Ever felt like you were in a tight spot in a small space with very few options to be delivered? Ever wondered if your prayers were really ascending to God’s ears? Ever felt like a woman alone whose hope was fading fast? If you have, then you are in good company with Esther. Esther who became Queen of Persia.
If you know the story of Esther, then you are aware that where Ester found herself is exactly where God wanted her to be. In the middle of her uncertain life, God used her to turn ordinary events into extraordinary opportunities. She became the wife of King Ahasuerus, ruler over the Achaemenid Empire. She became the greatest influence in the king’s ear. She became the woman who saved her people from extermination. She became the woman God used to change the course of history. To get a fresh grasp on her life, I encourage you to go back and reread the book of Esther. I’m sure there were times Esther felt like a nobody, a rejected Jewish girl with a mundane life. But God had plans for Esther – big plans. And because he did, little Esther became a super-heroine for the Jewish people. When Esther’s uncle Mordecai was persuading her to intercede with the king on behalf of her people, he made a profound and prophetic statement to her. He said, “who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.”
That statement is true in each of our lives. God has an assignment for each of us. A sovereign, appointed purpose in the world. There is always something he wants to delegate to each of us that will play a role in furthering his glory in this world. Right now, at this moment of your life, whatever you are experiencing, whatever you are facing, whatever is happening in your life – the good, the bad, or mundane – God is preparing you for what awaits you next. Your current circumstances are his training for his next great work in and through your life. Stop asking God “why,” and start asking him “what” he wants to do through you. Who knows whether you have come to this point in your life for such a time as this. You may be the next Esther in God’s supreme limitless plan.
Darlene