Where You Stand ~ Esther 4

“And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14b NASB

              It’s not what you know but who you know.  The idea that what you need to get done is just an arm’s length away from the person that can allow you or assist you in the completion of said thing.  But just exactly how have those people been placed in your life?  And is it true that only people in high places can truly move the mountains in this life or, as Garth Brooks says, can friends in low places do just as much or even more than those that reside in the ivory towers?  You see, God is a master at His game of carefully placing people in the exact spot that He desires them to be in.  And within this, He desires their whole-hearted obedience in that exact spot in which He has placed them.  And that means today, God desires to use you…wherever you are standing.

              As I study through the great little book of Esther, the anomalies are more than glaring.  It is the last of the Old Testament historical books.  Its scant 10 chapters classify it as the second shortest book in the first 17 books of the Old Testament.  And within its 10 chapters, there is no mention of God, prayer, Jesus Christ, or the church.  So, as we consider such obvious facts of omission, how are we to mentally file such a Biblical book that has no mention of God?  Well, the same way we should classify such God-ordained events today that fail to give Him credit by name.  You see, God is in control of everything…regardless of whether the world chooses to give Him credit.

              Along with the other anomalies found in Ester lie some of the most unique circumstances. Not accidents.  Not fate.  Not happenstance.  Not dumb luck.  God has a plan, and He uses faithful and obedient servants in the execution of His plan.  And in this book, void of the use of His name, we witness God use a Jewish orphan in exile, raised by her cousin in a foreign hostile land, taken by compulsion into the king’s harem, sees her find great favor with all she meets in the king’s courts, and finally sees her selected above 399 other competitors to be the queen of the largest kingdom on earth.  To read through the book of Esther is to truly see the invisible hand of God conducting the orchestra of His creation. And the harmonies He creates are nothing short of miracalous.

              If you are walking through God’s universe today offering Him a heart that is 100% sold out to Him in obedience, do you see your life as any different than queen Esther’s?  Do you believe that God is somehow less at work today than in the 17th book of the Old Testament?  You see, God has a plan.  And His plan is to see His name glorified as people come to a saving knowledge of Him through the work of His only Son Jesus Christ.  And, for whatever reason, God chooses to use humans saved by His grace in His plan to see the fruition of His kingdom.  And that means you and me.  That means wherever He has you standing in this very moment He desires to use you.  God may desire to use you as a doctor, an electrician, or a teacher.  God may have a plan to use you as a home-schooling mom, a retired volunteer, a pilot, or a missionary living in a foreign field. God may use you in your city, state, country or in the far reaches of a distant foreign country. Whatever God-ordained station or location He has you occupying today, maybe even the queen of Persia, God has a plan to use you. The question is, what kind of servant will you be to Him?

              Today you have one primary job for Jesus.  And that is to follow close at His heels.  To walk as closely to Him as you possibly can.  You see, your proximity to Jesus dictates everything about your walk as a professed Christ-follower.  For truly, how can you claim to follow someone if you are a mile behind them?  And to claim that close walk, there are four means that will keep you close through the highs and lows of this life.  First, time alone being quiet and drawing near to Him through His Words to you.  Jesus is the Word (John 1:1) and if you know His Word, you know Jesus.  The more of His Word you know in your heart, the more you know of His heart.  Second, time in prayer talking to the One you profess to closely follow.  For how can a close relationship endure even one day without healthy, honest communication?  A robust prayer life is not one long prayer a day but a thousand small, calling God into every situation and therefore admitting to Him that He is in control and you are not.  Third, being encouraged and enriched in blessed daily fellowship with other believers.  Christian service is difficult, and God saw that we would need each other to endure its many trials.  Don’t forsake daily fellowship thinking you can do it all on your own. You can’t.  And fourth, service to the kingdom.  As the first three fill us to overflowing with the love of Christ, we are then called to pour out Christ’s love upon this world.  And we do that wherever God stations us.  We do that right where we stand.

              I pray today that you see each and every circumstance in your life as exactly what it is…ordained by God to allow you to proclaim His name, further His kingdom, and see lives ushered into eternity through the name of Jesus Christ.

Right where you stand today, tell the world of the treasure you have found ~ Dan

"welcome", Oaxaca de Jaurez, Oaxaca, Mexico