Esther was a young woman whom God had called to deliver his people. God had brought Esther into an important position in the kingdom of Persia, and the time had come when she had to make a choice.
God’s people were facing destruction, and Esther could either obey God or not.
Mordecai was a godly man who had counseled Esther and had helped her come into the position she was now in. He warned her to obey God:
“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
Esther had been raised up for a specific time and purpose. She was uniquely positioned to bring deliverance to God’s people, and therefore she had a calling and responsibility from God. If Esther didn’t fulfill this calling, God’s people would be delivered anyway. Someone else would be raised up and equipped by God to deliver Israel, but Esther and her family would perish.
“For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)
God will always deliver his people, because he has made a covenant with them. He has promised to build his church and said that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.
But individuals have a choice. We can either choose to follow God, or we can choose to save ourselves. Sometimes it seems risky to obey God. It doesn’t make sense in the natural, and the cost seems too great.
Jesus said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:33).
When we seek to preserve our own lives rather than obey God, then we make selfish decisions. These decisions often appear to be safe and wise, but they are against God. Selfish decisions often end in loss and destruction.
We need to learn to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. When we are in the Spirit, we will obey God at the expense of our own lives. We will lean on God, and he will hold us up. We will be supernaturally sustained.
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'” (Matthew 16:24)
In order to be disciples of Christ, we must be willing to take up our cross. When we take up our cross, we are willing to lose our lives. We are willing to suffer loss for the sake of the kingdom of God.
Esther responded well to Mordecai’s exhortation: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:15-16)
Esther followed godly counsel. She called for the help and support of God’s people, and she cast herself on the mercy of God. She was willing to lay down her life for the sake of God’s word.
“If I perish, I perish.But I’m going to obey God no matter what.”
Esther was a radical woman who obeyed God. As such, she is an important example to us. Sometimes we don’t want to do what God is calling us to do because we are afraid we will suffer loss or even die. But these are usually needless fears. God is our Father, he is our support, he is always faithful, and he will bless us and bring deliverance as we follow him.
Let us fearlessly obey God, be strong, and do mighty things by the Holy Spirit for his glory.
Lincoln House Churches 