We all have an Esther that lives within us

Why is the book of Esther so important for every Christian  to read?  There are theologians who believe this book should be omitted from the Bible as it has no mention of God, prayer, fasting or celebration of the Jewish feasts. Martin Luther has said this book should be thrown into the Elbe River. 

Yet there are so many reasons.  First and foremost, God’s mighty hand is all over this book even though His name is never mentioned.  It is part of the rich history of the Jewish people and the faithfulness of God to preserve His chosen people and to fulfill His promise of sending the Messiah.  It is one of the last books written in chronological order before God went silent for four hundred years and the birth of our Savior. And the book of Esther is an example to us as to how to live through adversity and find the courage to make a stand for our faith and to see that God always provides a way.

Every person has an Esther that lives within him or her.  At some point in our lives we have been judged because of our faith, appearance, how sexually appealing we are or for our political stance.  We may have been overlooked for jobs or promotions because of our gender or ethnicity.  We have had to face difficult situations at work, in our homes and communities that have made us want to cower and give up. And yet, we are still writing our stories. 

For some of us we have had to find the courage that we did not know we had as we had to take stand to protect our faith, families, children, jobs or communities. As each day passes we are seeing more of a threat posed to our faith. Do you have the courage to stand for what you believe?

Life is not easy and each of us will face many challenges in our lifetime.  The more we grow in faith the more battles we will face as the enemy is watching and wants to squelch our love for Jesus.  Each one of us has to learn to trust God and know that He is present in our lives and that although He may appear silent in our lives, He is actively working behind the scenes to help us get through the challenges we face.

As we look at Esther’s story we see that her life was one of many challenges and rewards but she was on a need to know basis with God. As a young girl, had she known that she would be taken away from Mordecai and had to endure twelve months of beauty treatments and lessons on how to live a life of a women in the king’s harem she may have tried to hide or run away.  Had she have been told she would be chosen queen and one day would have to risk her life, stand up to the king and fight for the lives of her fellow Jews the pressure may have been so immense that she would have refused to cooperate with the eunuchs or gone insane with worry. As we will see God put things in place way before she was even born. He had a plan but He only revealed to her what she needed to know to go from one life milestone to the next without overwhelming her or causing her to spend her life in a constant state of worry. 

God is doing the same thing for you.  He has a master plan for your life but He is letting you take baby steps to get to where He wants to lead you. He is placing people in your life to help you along the way, challenging you so that you get stronger and opening doors that others have shut. You have a choice as how you live your life. Do you stand for the truth and make a stand or do sit back and allow life to pass you by?

Perhaps you were called for such a time as this.