The story of Queen Esther is the story of a young Jewish woman who happened to find herself at the right time at the right place and was able to play a big part in saving her people from annihilation from their enemies. Esther was an orphan and was raised by her uncle Mordecai and grew up to be the Queen by marrying King Xerxes of Persia. Esther was one of the many beautiful young women who were chosen to be seen by the queen but ultimately Esther was chosen to be the Queen by King Xerxes.
In the court of King Xerxes was a man named Hamman the Agagite, who had devised a plan to kill all the Jews in the kingdom of Xerxes. Hamman hated Mordecai and wanted to kill him and all the Jews in Persia as revenge. When Mordecai found out about his plan he came to Esther asking for help. In Esther 4:14 we can read Mordecai’s words to Esther, “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?” Esther sends word back to Mordecai and asks him to have all the Jews pray for her and that she will talk to the King even if it means that she will have to perish.
The rest of the story covers the bravery of Esther and the deliverance of the Jews from their enemies. The Jews to this day celebrate this day of deliverance as the festival of Purim. The essence of this story is the fact that Queen Esther was put in a position by God so that she could help in the deliverance of the Jews from their enemies by talking to the king her husband. Everything in her life had led up to this point. The very reason that we talk about Queen Esther is that fact that she stood up at the right time in the right place to do that which she had been prepared to do by God. Esther was brave enough to stand up in front of her king and reveal the true nature of Hamman and also was brave enough to ask for her people to be spared from the destruction that was planned for them by Hamman.
The story of Esther is a reminder to all of us Christians that God might be preparing all of us for such a time as this. A time when we will be in a unique position to help in God’s kingdom. There are others that God can use for his kingdom but can we step up when God needs us to when placed in that position just like Esther did? This ties in with what Paul says in Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” So when we are called according to his purpose do we step into our purpose or do we run away and let someone else do the work instead?
You might be in a unique position at work, at school, at church, or in your family to work for the kingdom of God in a way that only you can. God knows why he placed you in that position. He knows what talents and abilities you possess and he has prepared you to do his work for him when he wants you to. The only question is do you listen to him and walk in the plan he has for your life? Also, how do you know when God is calling you for something? You will know when the time is right on what it is that you have to do. If you run away from it then you will only be running away from the plan that God has for your life. It is never easy to do God’s will. You are often faced with doubt, fear, and anxiety but if you trust in God then he will lead you on the right path just like he did for Queen Esther.