|
3 Then Queen Esther
answered, “If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the
king, let my life be given me—that is my petition—and the lives of
my people—that is my request.
Too often we feel
that we are too small or too insignificant to make a difference in
this world. As a woman, this is even more pronounced. There is a
thought that we don’t have an opportunity to make a difference, and
that sometimes it is not even worth the effort.
Queen Esther found
her way to a position that set her apart, and allowed her the
chance to do something great, although this was not clear to her at
the time. She, like many of us, had her reservations and was ready
to make excuses, until her cousin Mordecai enlightened her. “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 your royal position for such a
time as this?”
Mordecai reminds us that God’s will
supersedes the limitations we place on ourselves. Esther made
the decision to take the chance of approaching King Xerxes, aware
of what the punishment could be and unsure of what would become of
her for taking this action. She fasted and beseeched her people to
do the same for her. She found favor in the King’s eyes and her
action and petition for her people saved them from destruction. By
stepping out in faith, and trusting God’s plan, she saved her
people.
A supervisor once gifted me a book named
“Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss as I began my
professional career. I now enjoy passing this book on to other
friends as they take the next big step in their professional lives.
The book often reminds me of taking the chance to believe in
oneself even when there is no guarantee of what the outcome will
be.
God has given us the ability to be
architects of change. Like Esther, we are capable of moving
mountains. We just need to take that first step, as she did.
|
