Trusting God's Plan When You Don't See Him: Lessons From the Book of EstherSample

This is the best part of the story!!! This is Esther’s pivotal moment, when Mordecai tells her there’s no more time for excuses.

“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 royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13 - 14)

Let’s stop here for a second and talk about “remaining silent.” We can all be guilty of this to avoid conflict. We simply don’t say or do anything and hope that the problem goes away or someone else takes care of it. That’s not how we as believers in Christ should act when something evil is happening around us. Even with the threat of death, the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8: 36-37 about this concept. “As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

So, Mordecai says in his message to Esther that doing nothing is not an option. And here’s also where we see his belief that God may have put her in the position of the queen “for such a time as this.” Again, he never mentions God in the text, but we see his perspective that Esther’s life is not all by chance. This had divine orchestration written all over it.

So finally after some excuses, Esther comes to her senses and decides she will act. And did you notice her plan of attack? It involved fasting. And what is fasting? It’s denying yourself food to draw close to God to seek Him out and hear His voice. Esther knew that prayer and fasting was what leads to breakthrough. Better yet, she asks all the Jews to join her for a 3-day fast, most likely begging for the ultimate King of Kings and Lord of Lords, God himself to act on her people’s behalf.

“I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish. I perish.” (Esther 4:16) She now knows that only God can save her at this point.

Questions:

1. Have you ever experienced a moment when you opted not to take action or address a problem? How did things work out?

2. If Esther were to remain silent, what did Mordecai say would happen to her family, and to the Jewish nation? Are there times it is better to simply remain silent?

3. Have you ever fasted over a situation or problem in your life? If so, what happened as a result?