sokin's devotional 90 - where and why have we been placed here?
"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law - to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days."
And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, "Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish."
Esther 4:11-16
---
One of the fundamental truths that Christians believe about God is that He is sovereign.
Sovereign can imply many things, but one truth you can draw out of that is simply that -
God does things on purpose.
Nothing He does is by chance, nothing He does is a surprise to Himself. God is unlike us in that He will never be baffled, or haphazardly put things together or make things happen for no reason.
He has a distinct purpose behind everything. He doesn't do things, "just because."
From that truth, we can then say that because of this, God does have a purpose behind every action. I don't believe that this means that we will understand everything in our lifetime (Romans 11:34 - “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”).
But one day we will when we see Him face to face. Or maybe not. I dunno. I've never been the heaven. I will one day but who knows what will happen when we get there.
I still to this day don't know why God took my mom to be in eternity way too early at the young age of 59. But He did. And it's been little less than a year now and I still don't know. But God knows. And He knows because He's God.
Okay, moving on then...
We see this dynamic happening in the story of Esther. And there's one simple application that I believe we cannot miss when we read this type of story.
Esther, a Jew, was chosen to be the Queen of King Ahasuerus. This put her in a very interesting and significant position. A man recently promoted by the King, Haman, comes along and lays out a decree to eliminate all Jews in the vicinity because Esther's relative Mordecai, did not bow down to Haman or pay homage to Haman because Mordecai was a God-fearing Jew.
When approached by Esther, Mordecai pleads with Esther to go before the King on behalf of her people.
This was a huge deal. As verse 11 explains, coming before the King when not summoned and to make a high request could be seen as contempt for the king's power and authority. This was punishable by death. Suffice to say, Mordecai was asking a lot from Esther.
But he rightly reminds her of her God-given position by posing a simple question, "Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" - this is the question that burns in her heart. Esther was reminded by Mordecai that she was placed in her position not by chance, but on purpose by God.
And then comes one of the most fearless verses in all of Scripture:
Where have we been placed? What positions have been given to us by God? We may not be kings and queens, but even in our humble positions and contexts, we must remember that we have been placed there for a reason.
The simple application is this: we have been placed where we are for a distinct purpose. God's purpose. He has a reason for your situation, your pain, your suffering, and your prosperity.
For some, the decisions we make may be as dangerous as Esther's. The safest route is not always the God-honoring route. Same goes the other way around, but the point is, we must seek to use our positions not for our benefit alone, but for God's purposes.
He may be calling you to use your influence to bring God-honoring change in your workplace, your dorm, or your surroundings.
Be bold like Esther and trust the Lord.
Lord, reveal that unto us so that we may not waste our opportunities!
And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, "Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish."
Esther 4:11-16
---
One of the fundamental truths that Christians believe about God is that He is sovereign.
Sovereign can imply many things, but one truth you can draw out of that is simply that -
God does things on purpose.
Nothing He does is by chance, nothing He does is a surprise to Himself. God is unlike us in that He will never be baffled, or haphazardly put things together or make things happen for no reason.
He has a distinct purpose behind everything. He doesn't do things, "just because."
From that truth, we can then say that because of this, God does have a purpose behind every action. I don't believe that this means that we will understand everything in our lifetime (Romans 11:34 - “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”).
But one day we will when we see Him face to face. Or maybe not. I dunno. I've never been the heaven. I will one day but who knows what will happen when we get there.
I still to this day don't know why God took my mom to be in eternity way too early at the young age of 59. But He did. And it's been little less than a year now and I still don't know. But God knows. And He knows because He's God.
Okay, moving on then...
We see this dynamic happening in the story of Esther. And there's one simple application that I believe we cannot miss when we read this type of story.
Esther, a Jew, was chosen to be the Queen of King Ahasuerus. This put her in a very interesting and significant position. A man recently promoted by the King, Haman, comes along and lays out a decree to eliminate all Jews in the vicinity because Esther's relative Mordecai, did not bow down to Haman or pay homage to Haman because Mordecai was a God-fearing Jew.
When approached by Esther, Mordecai pleads with Esther to go before the King on behalf of her people.
This was a huge deal. As verse 11 explains, coming before the King when not summoned and to make a high request could be seen as contempt for the king's power and authority. This was punishable by death. Suffice to say, Mordecai was asking a lot from Esther.
But he rightly reminds her of her God-given position by posing a simple question, "Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" - this is the question that burns in her heart. Esther was reminded by Mordecai that she was placed in her position not by chance, but on purpose by God.
And then comes one of the most fearless verses in all of Scripture:
"Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish."Verse 16 is probably one of the coolest statements made in Scripture. In history. Ever.
Where have we been placed? What positions have been given to us by God? We may not be kings and queens, but even in our humble positions and contexts, we must remember that we have been placed there for a reason.
The simple application is this: we have been placed where we are for a distinct purpose. God's purpose. He has a reason for your situation, your pain, your suffering, and your prosperity.
For some, the decisions we make may be as dangerous as Esther's. The safest route is not always the God-honoring route. Same goes the other way around, but the point is, we must seek to use our positions not for our benefit alone, but for God's purposes.
He may be calling you to use your influence to bring God-honoring change in your workplace, your dorm, or your surroundings.
Be bold like Esther and trust the Lord.
Lord, reveal that unto us so that we may not waste our opportunities!
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