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Esther.

This week we will be discussing the attributes of Esther and her courage across her timeline of being queen. 

Just a quick debrief of her life; Esther was a young Jewish woman who finds herself to be in a so called ‘beauty pageant’ {something that would be referred to this in this current generation.} With many women wanting to become a queen, Esther was given the honours to become the queen of Persia. This selection was part of God’s hidden plan to position her in this crucial moment. 

I’ve been meditating on the book of Esther and the 10 chapters have not only taught me a lot about Esther and her life, but her determination for her people and her faith built within her. She steps out in faith even though she fears that this secret that she’s been told to not reveal by Mordecai will finally be revealed. However, she trusts God’s provision - showing us how to step out for what we have been called for! 

Esther’s secret is that she is Jewish however her cousin Mordecai tells her not to tell anyone at the current moment. When Esther learns that there is a plot to annihilate her people which are the Jews she is faced with a decision. In this situation Esther has a choice whether to stay quiet and not at least try to save her people or to risk her life in approaching the king uninvited and tell the king to not allow this war to happen. With this ongoing, Mordecai encourages her to use her position and influence to save her people. Mordecai reminded her that she may have been placed in this role, in this time, to do God’s work. 

If you were put in this position, how would you react? 

Esther prayed and fasted alongside the other Jews and decides to risk her life by approaching the king! This fear turned into a miraculous event with the king extending his golden sceptre to Esther and spared her life by offering to grant her request. Esther reveals the plot against her people and pleads for deliverance. Through Esther’s boldness, the wicked Haman is exposed and brought to justice. 

With this story we learn 3 key points: God is always at work behind the scenes, the people around us matter, God has placed us where we are for a reason. 

The people around us matter – When reading Esther we realise the importance of having Christ like people around us. If Mordecai was not there to lead her with wisdom, she would not have taken the risk which turned out to be a miracle. 

God is always at work behind the scenes – God’s name is not mentioned in Esther however we can see God is always at work within the whole book. 

God has placed us where we are for a reason – God placed Esther to be the queen of Persia and set a revival for the Jews. God placed her to be in the position so that she could stand up against evil with God by her side! 

Meditating on Esther, may we look back to see how courageous she was and how we should allow ourselves to be put in positions to do what is right! No matter where we are, what we do, it is all for a reason and a purpose to bring out our faith.  

Written by: P. Abi