This week’s REACH woman of courage centers on the story of Esther. Esther 4:11-14 says this:
All the king’ s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives…
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. For who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Esther never could have imagined that the seemingly unconnected and incidental events in her life would lead up to her being put in the position to forever change the history of her people. To save the life of every Jew in the kingdom, Esther had to take an extraordinary leap of faith.
Esther is the only book of the bible in which God in not directly mentioned. Through the use of this literary device, the author shows us that even when it seems as though God is not there, he is in fact at work behind the scenes. God is always present in our lives even when he seems far away. He cares not only about the big choices we make, but also about the everyday workings of our lives. God can make the seemingly ordinary and incidental events come together with amazing results. The book of Esther shows us that we can choose between seeing the hand of God in our lives or seeing our circumstances as merely coincidence.
God has purposely blessed you with your talents, resources, and relationships. What might God be doing in your current circumstances? How might he be using you to serve his will?
Proverbs 16:9 says, “In their hearts human beings plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Look back on the steps that brought you to where you are now and think about how God was shaping and working through your situations and choices. It is not by accident that He has brought you to where you are. Are you willing to go where He is ready to lead?
– Miranda Mutter