For Such A Time As This
I think every little girl dreams of being a princess. My oldest daughter Summer’s favorite bible story was about Queen Esther. She always enjoyed reading and learning about this amazing Queen that God chose, not to mention watching the video a million times! From a very early age Summer was all girl, she loved to dress up like a princess with all the jewelry and crowns. I wanted her to learn and hear about real-life princesses and queens that were brave, strong and selfless. The Bible has the ultimate queen heroine Queen Esther!
The book of Esther takes place during exile in Persia and recounts the plot to exterminate the Jewish nation. Since Esther has miraculously become Queen, she was in a unique position to foil the evil plot. Her cousin Mordecai utters this famous quote to Esther regarding her divine destiny: “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Chapter 4:14)
As a mom, I was glad that she wanted to emulate Esther and here is why:
Esther is mentioned more times in the Bible than any other woman.
Esther was a queen who knew the power of when to speak and when to remain quiet.
Esther had courage: Remember Queen Esther when she said the words, “If I perish, I perish.” She was undoubtedly a brave queen. She was a remarkable woman who was willing to risk her life to save her people. She was a woman of principle who was willing to put the lives of others ahead of even her own life. She was an outstanding example of serving others even under the most stressful circumstances. Jesus Christ said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Esther’s beauty came from the inside where the presence of God’s unfailing love lived in her (Esther 2:8) Over and over in Esther’s story, we see she found favor. “Favor” is the word hesed in Hebrew and it means “God’s unfailing love”. Favor was the secret of Esther’s beauty. When the people saw in the palace, including the king, it wasn’t only her physical appearance they were seeing. They were seeing the presence of God inside of her.
Now, my daughter Summer is an adult getting ready to have her own family. If I was asked to describe my daughter; Esther would come to mind why? Because she is fiercely loyal, smart, determined, brave and deeply faithful. She always carries herself (even as a small child) with grace, modesty and style, she has an inner (as well as outer) beauty. I like to think that those early years of studying, reading and watching Esther ‘s story are now part of her DNA. That was the beauty of homeschooling, I could do and did a complete curriculum study on Esther.
Like Queen Esther (4:14), we each have been created for His purpose – “for such a time as this.”
We can all use this story in our everyday lives. Most of the time our lives will be pretty routine, but all of us have a few defining moments when we may be called on to put godly principle above personal benefit. What will you do when you encounter those defining moments in your life? What will you do when you face “such a time as this”? Will you choose to do the right thing as opposed to what might give you some personal benefit?
Esther shows all of us the way, and we can be inspired by her example.
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)
