Yesterday I posted a blog that I entitled “Outside the Four Walls.” I have entitled this devotional “Part II” as it goes along with yesterday’s message. (I realize that my blogs are pretty long, I have not perfected the art of editing. I apologize for the length)
This morning as I drove to school, I was really seeking God telling Him that I want so much to be a witness for Him. As I sit in my office waiting for students to come visit during my office hours, I am reading the book of Esther. Although I have read it many times, it is speaking to me in a way it has not done before. I want to share with you, what I believe God is telling me.
Most of us know the story of Esther so I am not going to spend time recapping what is going on. There are three points that I hope to make in this devotional:
1. Going against what has not been done before is a risky thing
2. God has placed us in the position we are in right now so that we can go against tradition and make a difference
3. If we remain silent He will call someone else to do what He has originally called us to do
Going against what has not been done before is a risky thing-
Mordecai sent word to Esther of a plot to kill all the Jews. He instructed her to go to the king and make supplication for the Jewish people. In verse 11 Esther sends word back informing Mordecai that she can not do this because: “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.” In other words, Esther told Mordecai, “what you want me to do, I can not do because it is against custom, against tradition.”
This verse struck me as I read it because I often think that God is calling us to do certain things, but because they are against custom, tradition and have never been done before, we tell Him, “We can not do it.” God is telling us to begin a Christian club at our school, but because it has not been done before, we can not do it. God is telling us to start a prayer ministry at our workplace, but because it has not been done before, we can not do it. God is calling us to have Bible Study in our neighborhood, but because it has not been done before, we can not do it. God is telling us to speak to that young mother in the grocery store and tell her that God loves her, but because it has not been done before, we can not do it. God is telling us to ask the waitress at the restaurant if we can pray for her, but because it has not been done before, we can not do it. God is calling the college student to major in politics so that they can become an Apostolic senator, but because it has not been done before, we can not do it. God is calling the college student to become a professor so they can teach at Yale, but because it has not been done before, we can not do it. God is calling the business person to ask their employer for a donation for the church, but because it has not been done before, we can not do it. God is calling you as a female to do something, but because a female has never done it, we can not do it.
Esther told Mordecai if a person goes to the king without being called, they will be put to death. She understood the need was great; the Jewish people were going to get killed, but stepping out would be a great risk. She was unwilling to take that risk. Likewise, we might not fear literal death but we fear what will happen if we step out. We see the need, we see what needs to be done, but because it has not been done, or more specifically it is against custom we let fear stop us.
That brings me to my second point: God has placed us in the position we are in right now so that we can go against that tradition and make a difference.
Mordecai sends word to Esther “…Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” In other words, he tells Esther, “you wondered why you were plucked from your family, you wondered why you were placed in the king’s palace, you wondered what was the purpose of all of that. This is the purpose. You were placed in the palace to save the Jewish people.” Likewise, I believe the place where we are in life is no accident, God has placed us there for a reason. There is a reason why you are working in the company you are working in, there is a reason you are going to the school you are going to, there is a reason you sit next to the girl you sit next to in Math class, there is a reason you live next to the person you live next to, there is a reason why your cubicle is where it is. I will even say there is a reason why you have the waitress you do when you go out to eat, there is a reason you have the checkout lady at the grocery store when you go shopping, there is a reason you have the teller you do when you go to the bank. There is a reason why you are where you are in life, and a reason why you come in contact with the people you come in contact with. God has a purpose that He wants to fulfill through you.
Lastly, If we remain silent He will call someone else to do what He has originally called us to do.
Ultimately it is our choice what we are going to do. God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, but Jeremiah had the choice as to whether he was going to accept that call. Likewise, Esther had the choice, she could have told Mordecai, “I understand what you are saying, I know the need, I understand the urgency of this, but I am not willing to do it.” We all have a choice as well. When we sit next to the student who is always talking about partying, we have a choice, to remain silent, or tell them about a God who they need to serve. When we hear our co-worker talking about getting a divorce from her husband, we have a choice, we can remain silent, or we can tell her about a God who can restore marriages. When we hear our neighbor talking about being depressed, we can remain silent, or we can tell them about a God of joy. When we know our classmates don’t believe in God, we have a choice, we can remain silent, or we can tell them that there is a God. When we are in the grocery store and there is someone who is standing in front of us, we have a choice, we can remain silent, or we can smile and tell them that God loves them. When we are in the restaurant and a burden for our waitress comes upon us, we have a choice, we can remain silent, or we can ask her if we can pray for her. When we are enrolled in school and it gets difficult, but we know God is calling us to major in something that no Apostolic has ever majored in, we have a choice we can remain silent and not do it, or we can step out believing that God has a purpose for where we are.
Mordecai sent word to Esther saying, “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place.” In other words, he informed Esther God’s purpose was going to be fulfilled. After reading this you might think that gets you off the hook. IF you don’t tell your classmate about God, someone else will. If you don’t tell your neighbor about God, someone else will. If you don’t major in that particular field, someone else will. God’s purpose will be fulfilled regardless. But look at what Mordecai says “but you and your father’s house will perish.” Ultimately, Mordecai was saying, “Esther if you choose to remain silent, the people will be spared, but your life will be lost. ” I don’t think God is going to take our lives for not witnessing to our neighbor, or speaking to the person in the grocery store, or encouraging our classmate, but I do think this verse is telling us that we will be held responsible if we do not speak out. That we will be held accountable for remaining silent.
Ultimately, Esther did not let the fear keep her from doing God’s will. In the end she said “And I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” This is what we need to do, we need to say “I will go against custom, I will go against tradition, I will do what has not been done before. If they make fun of me, they make fun of me. If they mock me, they mock me. If they tell me I am too radical, they tell me I am too radical. If they look at me crazy, they look at me crazy.” But they might just receive what you have to say. That waitress might just tell you that they need prayer. That co-worker might just tell you that she has noticed your walk and has been praying that God would speak to her through you. That classmate might tell you that their whole life they have never felt love, and this love of God that you talk about they want. The person in the grocery store might tell you that they have been so lonely and so depressed and just by you saying how are you doing, has greatly encouraged them. We need to step out, because in the end, Esther did not perish, she saved her people. In the end, God will use you to bring others to know Him.