For Such a Time as This

13. And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews.
14. "For if you remain completely silent at this tme, relief and deliverance will arise from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
15. Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai:
16. "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"
Esther 4:13-16

Esther- Queen of Persia, wife of King Ahasurus, who reigned over 127 provinces. A woman of integrity and striking beauty. A woman of such influence with the king that her tomb is guarded to this day, not by her own people, but by the enemy of her people. Bred for the throne? Hardly. Esther started her life as Hadassah, a little Jewish girl growing up in a typical Jewish home. Orphaned at a young age when her parents are slaughtered, she is taken in by her cousin, Mordecai. Nothing special about her growing up years. Not a prominent family in town. And yet, she becomes queen of a nation and saves her people.

How did a little Jewish orphan playing in the streets of a typical neighborhood come to save an entire nation? Certainly, she was a woman of destiny, but WHY? What made her different from all the other Jewesses? Her beauty? Well, her beauty got her into the palace, along with hundreds of other young girls, but beauty doesn't cause someone to lay down their life for others. Beauty doesn't translate into character and Esther was a woman of character. She loved God and honored Him. She lived her life according to His principles. She knew her life was in His hands and always had been. She feared God, not man. And she loved her people. No doubt the memory of seeing her parents slaughtered remained with her all her days and she knew she couldn't stand idly by and watch it happen to other families and children. She loved her people.

So, what does all of this have to do with you? Or me? Simple. We live in times that are as perilous as they've ever been. Wars and rumors of wars. Economic uncertainty. A housing market that's depressed. Government spending money faster than it can be printed. It's like the fulfillment of the Chinese curse- May you live in interesting times. Interesting times? Have they ever been more interesting?

"But," you say, "what can I do? I'm just an everyday guy or gal." Me, too. So was Esther. But, just like Esther, we can make a difference. God has a plan for you, just like He did for her (Jer 29:11).

Okay, God has a plan for me, but where do I start?

Start by loving your country. No, it isn't perfect. Nothing in this life is. The easy part is finding fault. The God part is loving it. Love it enough to humble yourself before God and pray for it. REALLY pray for it. Not the "Now I lay me down to sleep" kind of prayer, but the kind of prayer that shakes heaven and earth and moves the heart of God. If ever there was a time to cry out to God for our country, it's now. Rend the heavens with your prayers. And, just as Isaiah did, identify with the sins of your fellow man, the sins of our nation. No, you may not have committd those sins, but you can repent of them on behalf of this nation. Take them upon yourself as if you had and then repent of them. That's what standing in the gap is and God is searching for someone to stand in the gap for this country and move His heart so that He can move on our behalf. God has promised that if we will humble ourselves and pray, if we will turn from our wicked ways that He would hear us and forgive us and HEAL OUR LAND. Restoration. (2 Chron 7:14)

One other thing- get involved. Find a way, a place to make an impact on at least one other person's life. If you can do more- awesome! But commit yourself to touching at least one other life in a positive way. Help out with a Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop. Read to a class of elementary school children. Volunteer at a hospital. Work with kids at risk of gang involvement. Run for local office. Smile at someone. Esther risked her life going before the king without being summoned. She got involved. She had prayed and others had prayed for her. She loved her people.

If we don't move the heart of God for our nation, what will we be leaving for our children and grandchildren to have to deal with? Is this the heritage we want for them? Pray for our leaders. You may or may not agree with their politics, but God has told us to honor them and to pray for them. Pray for them to have Godly wisdom and understanding. Pray for them to have Godly convictions and for them to govern us according to the Word and the heart of God. Pray for God to move their hearts and renew their minds. Pray for their safety. Pray for them with the heart of God.

And remember- just like Esther, you were brought to the kingdom for such a time as this.