“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance of the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
~Esther 4:14
This weekend’s sermon featured one of the few women that take center stage in the Bible, Esther. And she was a queen. When I open my bible to the book of Esther, two things catch my attention, a key verse, Esther 4:14, and the fact that God isn’t directly referenced in the book.
The verse can easily be missed as only applying to those who are in major leadership positions, such as a queen. But the position is not the point at all. It’s more about realizing that God can use us where we are at, in whatever position we occupy. Imagine how limited God’ reach would be if He only used the queens, kings, CEOs, or Presidents of the world. The scripture applies to us all, the gas station clerks, administrative assistants, store greeters, food preparers, and janitors of the world. People in high positions typically know that they can have an impact on others. However, most people occupying the more humble or everyday positions don’t know that they too are in positions to impact others. Esther 4:14 reminds us that there may be a purpose to the positions we find ourselves in. But how will we know if there is a bigger plan at play? What would clue us into God’s will? Well…having a relationship with God is a great place to start.
The world is full of people longing for more, trying to fill holes inside themselves with material things, money, status, accomplishments, the wrong relationships, or drugs and alcohol. All of which never satisfy in the long run. The longing can only be satisfied by a relationship with God. A real and intimate relationship, one where we nourish our spirit in the same intervals that we nourish our physical bodies helps us “see” with more clarity. The closer our relationship with God, the more buffered we are from the noise and distractions of the world, allowing us to more easily hear the whispers of God trying to guide us.
The benefits of having an engaged relationship with God has numerous benefits, only one of which may be having a clue into why you are in the position you are in.