“FOR A TIME SUCH AS THIS”

MEMORY VERSE: Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:13-14 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nahum

Haman, a wicked man with an evil heart, wanted Mordecai dead because he refused to bow to him (Esther 3). What did he do? He hatched a plan to exterminate all the Jews in the land. He went to King Ahasuerus, told him that the Jews were working against him and asked for permission to conduct an ethnic cleansing. He even volunteered to personally foot the bill. Which king wouldn’t want to see the end of those working against him? None. So, the king gave him his blessings ; Haman spoke with the law makers and they passed a bill that says all the Jews must be exterminated on a certain date. Mordecai heard this news and passed it on to Queen Esther, his adopted daughter. At first, Esther began to give excuses but the tough old man said to her “Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

There several lessons we can learn from the old man’s response. Firstly, “whatever” position you find yourself in life you are there for a reason. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Jewish man who secretly followed Jesus, was a member of the Sanhedrin for a reason. God deliberately put him in the Sanhedrin– a position that gave him access to Herod - so that He would use his contact, connection and position to collect the body of Jesus Christ from Herod after His crucifixion (Mark 15:42-64). That young slave girl was in the house of Naaman, waiting on Naaman’s wife, for a reason (2 Kings 5:1-19). God deliberately had her there so as to use her to bring healing to Naaman, one of the high ranking officers in the Syrian army, which will in turn mend the relationship between the Syrians and the Israelites- God wanted to use an Israelite prophet to heal a top brass in the Syrian army. Sadly, Gehazi’s conduct hindered it as he took money from Naaman for his healing. 

Secondly, “whatever” position you find yourself as a child of God, you are there for a "particular time". This translates that you will not be there forever. Also, you are there for a particular purpose. As such, “whatever” position you find yourself as a child of God, you must behave yourself in a way that will not jeopardize the fulfillment of your purpose there. Thank God that young slave girl behaved well whilst waiting on Naaman’s wife. Had it been she was a lazy girl or a thief, Naaman’s wife would not have listened when she spoke to her about the prophet in Israel. Thank God Joseph of Arimathea was a responsible man. Had it been he was irresponsible, Herod would not have granted him audience talkless of release the body of Christ, a treasure of inestimable value, to him. We thank the Lord for the life of Queen Esther. She was a humble woman who never took the king for granted. Had it been that she behaved like her predecessor Vashti, she would not have been able to save her people. Please note that all we have been talking about only applies to children of God. As a child of God, if you find yourself in a position you don’t like i want you to know that your Father in heaven knows about it, and He will work things for your own good (Romans 8:28). However, if you are yet to give your life to Christ or you are living in sin and you find yourself in a situation you don’t like, it could be the devil punishing you for fun since you are in his camp. Today, you can change camp by confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

QUESTION: How are you behaving in that position God has put you? Are you behaving in a way that will jeopardize the fulfillment of God's purpose for having you there? 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world