10 Oct What we do now matters
You’ve probably had someone say to you, “There’s no time like the present.” I used to hear it often as a kid, when I was slow doing homework or chores.
But as I got older I started to view this phrase in a more mature sense. I saw that every great journey begins with a first step, and that includes our journey for purpose. It is up to us to seize the opportunities God brings.
One of the greatest examples of this is found in the story of Esther in the Bible. Let me tell you a little bit about her. First of all, it’s recorded that she was very beautiful. Scholars think that her parents probably died, because she was raised by an older kinsman, Mordecai.
One day when Esther was just a teenager, the king of Persia decided to throw a huge party. He got drunk and insensitively asked his wife to come to him and display her beauty before all the men present.
She told him no. That upset the king, so he sent her away for good. He then sent messengers all throughout Persia to find and bring to his palace the most beautiful girls in the kingdom. They would be put through beauty treatments for twelve months, and at the end of the year, he would choose one as his new queen.
Long story short, Esther was chosen as the new queen of Persia. It was in this position that she discovered her purpose— to deliver the Jewish people, her people, from death.
Haman, a wicked man on the king’s cabinet, had manipulated the king into signing a decree allowing Persians to kill Jews without punishment.
Mordecai told Esther of the decree. They were both heartbroken. That was when he uttered the well-known phrase, “Who knows but that you are in this place for such a time as this?”
Esther agreed and, the way she handled her purpose proved that what we do now truly matters.
The first thing she focused on was enlightened prayer. She asked Mordecai to have all the Jews fast and pray with her for three days so that she would know what to do. Prayer is always what we can count on to make God’s path for our life clear.
Then, Esther proved unyielding conviction. This is when we often find how much we really trust God. After Esther’s time of prayer, she decided to enter the king’s throne room uninvited, which was usually punishable by death. She did so with the words, “If I perish, I perish.” That’s true conviction.
Finally Esther demonstrated immediate obedience. When it came time to pull the trigger, so to speak, Esther acted immediately and with great courage. She entered the king’s throne room that day and ended up saving her people from death.
Friends, now is the time to start walking toward our purposes. Let’s not let another day go by. Instead, let’s pray fervently, live with conviction, and obey immediately. When we show up, God does too!