But What If I Can’t – Esther’s Story
Of all the women in the Bible, few are as admired as Esther. She was humble, unassuming, obedient, a lover of God, willing to do the right thing even when doing so was risky and to top it all off, she was beautiful.
Esther’s Story
The Old Testament book of Esther should be at the top of your reading list, but for the sake of time and space, let’s look at the condensed version…
Esther was a young Jewish girl being raised by her cousin, Mordecai, because her parents had died when she was a very young child. Esther and her family lived in Susa during the time Israel was under the rule of the Persian Empire- specifically King Xerxes.
The King found himself in need of a new queen, so he ordered all the young single ladies to participate in a beauty pageant. The grand prize? The title of queen.
Esther had no desire to be a part of the contest but didn’t have the option of saying no. Her beauty, humility, and simplicity won King Xerxes over and she was declared the winner.
During one of Mordecai’s visits to the palace to visit his adopted daughter, he ignited a deep-seated hatred for himself in the king’s right-hand man, Haman. As a result, Haman tricked the king into issuing a decree that all Jewish people would be executed.
Now the king didn’t know his beloved queen was also a Jew, but when Esther found out about the law, Mordecai convinced Esther that the responsibility for saving the Jewish race rested on her shoulders.
Going to the king wasn’t easy for the queen. She was literally taking her life in her hands in doing so, but through a series of events, Esther revealed Haman’s evil plot to King Xerxes; saving her life and the life of her people. Queen Esther was both a heroine and a Godly young woman.
What We Can Learn From Esther
Esther was a woman of principle who didn’t let fame, money, or position change who she was. Instead, she used all these things for the good of others and she remained true to herself and to God.
From Esther, we learn…
Lesson One:
God’s plan for us doesn’t always make sense in our eyes, but if we are listening and watching, we will realize he always has a reason for what he does.
Esther couldn’t imagine why she of all people should be queen, but God did and that was enough. It should be enough for us, too.
Lesson Two:
Being fearful is not an excuse for not doing God’s will. The king could have given the “off with her head” edict had he wanted to because Esther came to him uninvited.
In a similar fashion, there are Christians dying daily around the world because they proclaim God as the one true God and Jesus as Savior.
There are even Christians in this country serving time in jail, being persecuted, stalked, harassed, and bullied because they are holding to the moral principles given in the Bible.
Are these things scary to think about? You bet they are, but so was being nailed to a cross. We just have to train our hearts and minds to see these events as a way to witness and know that no matter what happens to us, God will bless us for our faithfulness.
Lesson In Three:
Less is more is usually the better route to take when it comes to talking.
Esther’s ethnic background wasn’t something she talked about all the time. There was no need to. It didn’t matter. She was a citizen of Susa, young, single, pretty, and sweet.
That was all anyone really cared about in regard to the queen contest. She wasn’t being deceitful. There simply was no need to make it an issue.
People see the color of our skin, hear our accents, and can usually tell by the neighborhood we live in, and other such indicators what nationality we are and where we’re at in relation to socio-economic ‘placements’ (I don’t like that word).
It shouldn’t be a topic of conversation.
Instead, we need to focus on letting people know who we are in regard to our hearts, our minds, and our desire to be like Jesus.
To focus on these other things (as we can see on the news every night) brings dissension, resentment, hatred, and conflict. That’s not what we are to be about.
Lesson Four:
It’s always right to do the right thing. Being tactful, truthful, and having the right motive for doing something is never wrong.
To Sum It All Up
Esther was able to use her station in life to save the Jewish race. While it’s probably safe to say none of us will ever be a queen or a princess or the leader of a nation, we have a responsibility given to us by Jesus Christ to use our station in life (no matter where or what it is) to share the message of Jesus and salvation with those around us.