For such a time as this

I recently went on a mission trip to Romania. A group of 9 recent high school graduates from my Sunday School class went. I cannot tell you enough how much God blessed me through that trip. He humbled me, taught me, and even called me. I loved it there. I did not want to come home. However, I had to due to the whole school situation. So I talked to the missionary there about possibly interning next summer. There may be a possible opportunity for me to serve there next summer for two months!

Anyways, we got back around midnight on a Sunday night, and due to the jet-lag I was not conscious until about Wednesday, which is interesting. Wednesday night I went to youth and one of the youth leaders was talking about Esther. I had not really learned or, to be more specific, cared about the book of Esther. Needless to say my favorite book of the Bible is now Esther.

Esther was in a weird position. She was a Jew, unknown to the king, and married to him. At this point in time the king was disgusted with the Jews due to a recent event that took place. He ordered that all the Jews in his province be killed. See the problem? Yeah, the king was going to annihilate her entire family and people. Her father figure, Mordecai, asked Esther to go into the kings inner courts to talk with the king about his decision. Now, that does not seem like a huge deal; however, at that time if anyone was to enter into the kings court with out permission he or she was to be killed. Esther did just that. She went into the kings court and asked the king if he would go to a banquet (lunch). He agreed and went to lunch with Esther and Haman. And to make a long story short, the king agrees to stop killing off the Jews.

The point at which this verse, Esther 4:14, comes is crucial. She was called to do something - save the Jews. However, if she did not act when she did, the relief would have come just not through her and at that time. This shows me a perfect example of being a servant. Even though the task endangered her life, she followed through with what the Lord said to do.

I think of it like this, we often see people pulled off to the side of the road with car problems. We have the choice to stop and help, even though it will be taken care of eventually. See, to me, this passage is not about the Jews and what happened to them and their relief. This passage is about serving the Lord when he calls you. We have so many opportunities to serve on a daily basis and most of the time we pass them up because we are afraid of what will happen to us. Why not help out for just such a time as this?