S99P4 – Timely salvation: when God sends us in
Est. 5:1-2
On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
Queen Esther was in quite a spot. She had been made aware that her people faced annihilation, and that threat came from someone of influence within the King’s court. Mordechai told her that it was God’s will for her to be in that place at that time because she would be the vehicle of their deliverance from this threat. Her task was simple yet deadly. The first thing she had to do was present herself to the King in his court unannounced. Unless the King held out his scepter, Queen Esther would not survive that encounter. It undoubtedly was a tense and nervous moment for her because the survival of her people depended on her survival in that place before the King. The difference is that God called her to this circumstance.
We will encounter illness, persecution, bondage and all kinds of trouble that will cause us to seek God to save us in the moment. Much of what comes against us will be the result of our faith, and we are to count it a joy to suffer these persecutions for the cause of Christ. We also might find ourselves in the same position in which Queen Esther found herself. The circumstance from which we ask God to save us might be a circumstance He has ordained or called us to enter. It might seem like a paradox that God would purposely place us in situations that make us beg for deliverance from those very situations. We might not understand why God himself would bring these unpleasant circumstances, but there is a great lesson to be learned here. If the question is whether we trust God to deliver us, then we certainly should have faith in his saving power when He is the one orchestrating the event.
Queen Esther was in that court nervous for her life because God gave her an ultimatum through Mordechai. Trying to save herself by not appearing before the King would have led to her destruction. Obeying God’s command meant that she would have to place herself in that risky situation intentionally. This is the kind of courage God wants to develop in his children. This kind of courage is based on faith but only is produced through practice. Esther’s bravery was built in that moment when God saved her from the danger in which He commanded her to place herself. This courage through faith is what she would need to carry out the rest of that plan and bring deliverance to her people. Father, give us the faith and courage of Queen Esther to go willingly into the arena of danger and fear trusting that You will deliver us if You have placed us there.