Skip to main content

For Such A Time

                 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esher 4:14)

                 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

 

                She was a beautiful girl, taken into the king’s home, granted honors not available to anyone else. As we read Mordecai’s warning to her, we can readily see how she was born for such a time as that. But what about me? You know, the one who

Never quite lived up to the news clippings

Is 90 lbs. overweight, or 20 lbs. underweight

Didn’t win the awards

Can’t be called a beauty by any one’s standards

Doesn’t have the king, the president, or anyone powerful on speed dial.

Is called  “Karen” the moment she opens her mouth

                Feel free to add to the list of the nothing-ness and nobody-ness of most of our lives. We are tempted to shrug away any thought that God might have created us for such a time as this, that, or any. But look again at Esther. God created her, in effect, to be a wife who throws two dinner parties. In fact, they are two dinner parties for three people. And they’re even the same three people. The only reason there had to be two parties is that she lost her nerve the first time.

            Don’t get me wrong, I think the world of Esther. I doubt I’d have had the courage. But sometimes, we blow these events up. There’s another story that centers on a man who maintains a prayer discipline. And what about the guy whose place in history is cemented because he was sitting in prison? Or the guy who is famous for how much he suffered?

            As we face the challenge of our difficult – or our boring – circumstances, we might do well to wonder now and again if just maybe we have come into our lives “for such a time as this.” And that thing we're afraid to do is the blessing we're withholding from others. 


 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...