I Choose To Be Esther

I’ve read the book of Esther multiple times and I’ve wondered “What’s the point? What does God want me to learn from Esther?”

Last week a team from Colorado visited us in Guatemala. They helped build a house. They spent time learning about the culture. They loved and hugged the kids.  And then, after one week, they re-entered the palace gates.

You and I were chosen by a King to live inside the palace gates just like Queen Esther. You and I could have been born in a 3rd World Country to a now single mom. We could have been born in a one-bedroom cornstalk room with dirt floors and no bathroom.  We could have been born and left on the side of the road by alcoholic parents. But we weren’t. We were born in the United States of America where we have access and opportunity that most of the world does not.

You may not agree but it’s thick on my heart, so I’ll say it anyway.…and it’s something I’ve had to come to terms with. My “success” in the States had nothing to do with me. Yes, I paid my own way through college. Yes, I started my own business. And yes, I worked hard. Really hard. I deserved a good life filled with good things, right?

It’s only by the grace of God that I was born inside the gates. And let me tell you, IT’S PARADISE.  It’s not perfect and there can be incredible challenges, but there’s just no comparison. Come wait with me at the National hospital with a sick little boy and his mom for 8 hours…just to get admitted. And then wait 3 days to finally be seen by a doctor.  Most private schools in Guatemala don’t compare to the free public education my kids had in Colorado. THAT. IS. A. FACT.  And public schools in Guatemala are packed, understaffed and severely underfunded.  

Esther didn’t choose to live a queen’s life. And you didn’t choose your life either. It was handed down to you by a King.

God didn’t choose Esther so she could have a great job or promotion. He didn’t choose her so she could have a bigger house. God chose Esther to give those outside the gates, relief. To deliver them. To save them.

If God chose Esther to use her position to help those outside the gates, is it possible that God chose you for the same reason?

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house, you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” Esther 4:13-14

God doesn’t need you. Relief and deliverance will arise from another place. Your life is an opportunity to serve God. It’s an opportunity to love God and to love your neighbor. How will you use your royal position?

Esther wasn’t exactly thrilled about talking to the king about saving her people. Actually, she was terrified. She had so much to lose, including her own life. Basically, she told Mordecai, “This is your problem. Good luck. I’ll be praying for you. I have my own problems. I can barely pay my OWN bills. I worked hard this year and I need a vacation. How am I supposed to live my life AND help those outside the gates?”

It’s a narrow road.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” ~Jesus

I choose to be Esther.