S130P7 – The flavors of God’s favor: unlikely success
Est. 4:10-11
Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.”
They were fighting a war, so everyone’s work was dangerous and risky. He and his brother had been asked to complete a most critical mission, and the chances of their safe return were incalculable. They had the option not to go, but they knew that no other team had their level of skill. If anyone would be able to come back alive, it would be them. Their fellow soldiers offered skeptical and wary congratulations, because they knew this looked like a suicide mission. These two men, however, understood that this was something no one else could even try to do, and thousands of lives were in their hands. Only the favor of the Lord could bring their safe return, and it would do just that.
We might say that Esther was backed into a corner. She was the one in the position to save her people, but her uncle would tell her something interesting in later verses. She could risk her life to help deliver the Jews, or she could leave them to be delivered by some other means and forfeit God’s protection. Either option could have death on the horizon, but she knew what she needed to do to be faithful. She would have to take a step that most would not dare. From where she stood, her chances of success appeared to be nil. Yet, through God’s favor on her, the king who had not requested her presence in weeks not only accepted but gladly welcomed her interruption that day.
God’s favor in the lives of his children can manifest in their being able to achieve things that no one could achieve. Whether it is taking a risk that others have not been able to survive or simply getting through to someone who has been a wall to everyone else, He empowers his people to achieve what is only possible with him. Perhaps when tasked with deciding whether to take a risk for the Lord, we only need ask whether the task is doable. If we decide that we cannot, then perhaps we should anyway because we are certain that He can. Father, help us to take risks for your name’s sake, trusting in your favor to get us through seemingly impossible tasks.