"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 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 royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:13-14
If you don't know the story of Esther, I encourage you to read the book in the Bible. It's one of my favorite stories. It has everything: Romance, Adventure, Intrigue, Deception.... you name it!
One of my favorite parts of the story is found in the scripture above. Esther, a lowly Jewish girl, by the divine providence of God has been made Queen of Persia. Due to a single man in power who hates the Jews, a decree has gone out by the King that all Jews in his kingdom are to be slaughtered. Of course, the King doesn't know his queen is a Jew! Esther's uncle begs her to go to the King to plead their cause, but Esther knows that if she approaches the King unannounced, she could be put to death.
There is so much about destiny in the book of Esther. If you have ever thought that your life is meaningless and you have no purpose or that God could never use you for anything important, you need to read about Esther! She was nothing but a lowly Jewish girl living in the middle of a very wicked kingdom.
Esther's uncle gives her a choice. She can either try and save her people or she can do nothing. Either way, God's will will be done. But the truth of the matter is, if she chooses to do nothing, she will have missed her destiny.
We can refuse to walk in obedience to God or cower in fear from our calling and God will undoubtedly still accomplish His agenda without us. But we would have passed up the fulfillment of our own entire life-purpose and we will miss out on being a part of something mighty, eternal and extraordinary.
Don't wait until it's too late to follow God with all your heart. How tragic it will be for those who choose to serve themselves in this life all the way into a meaningless existence. As they stand before God on judgement day, they will no doubt wail in agony for all they missed in this life.
If you are here today, then God has something for you to do.
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. Acts 17:26
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, Ephesians 1:11
Esther made the right choice. She risked her own life to obey God and in the process she saved an entire nation of people from annihilation.
What are you going to do? Only God knows the plans He has for you. All you need to do is listen and obey! And fulfill your destiny!
Great inspirational piece. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteBlessings.
tarenn98[atyoo[dot]com
Wonderful post! Very inspirational.
ReplyDeleteThanks, ladies! I'm really into this destiny thing now with my next series. It's so cool how each of us has a great purpose while we are here!
ReplyDeleteI, too, am very much inspired by Esther. A wonderful post, MaryLu...Looking forward to your next series.
ReplyDeletekaren k
kmkuka(at)yahoo(Dot)com
I love the story of Esther. I haven't thought about it in a long time. Thanks for the reminder and the inspiration of how I should be living.
ReplyDeleteIt does sound like a good story. I can only remember parts, I've never read the book in whole. But, now I'm wanting to.
ReplyDeleteThis is also one of my favorite Bible stories and you have put into words many of my own thoughts on the subject. It's good to know that we're not alone sometimes! The word "destiny" is so often misused to mean a fatalistic outlook on life, an inflated sense of self-importance, or even some mystic nirvana type of idea. What about just simply enjoying God's best--His highest purposes for our life--when we choose to obey Him?! As Gandalf says in LOTR, "All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you." And how good to know that every day is a new opportunity to start making God-centered choices.
ReplyDeleteI also really like this book of the Bible. I really enjoy your inspirational posts. Thank you! I am currently in the middle of Beth Moore's study on Esther, which I very highly recommend! She gives a lot of insight into the destiny aspect of the book.
ReplyDeleteJulie =)