For Such A Time As This
A friend shared with me about her experiences working an office where the boss is heavily into Scientology. This is not always easy as her values often contrast with his. He talks about the importance of being legal and ethical, yet his actions don’t always follow his words. It is a delicate situation where she must abide by certain rules, yet not compromise her own values and standards.
This reminds me of the book of Esther. Growing up in the Jewish faith, I always loved this story and the holiday of Purim that Jews celebrated this past weekend. As children, we would dress up as a character from the story, come to the synagogue, march in a parade and eat such delicacies as “hamantashen cookies” (triangular cookies, traditionally prune-filled, based on the three sided hat of evil Haman.) Boys pretended to be King Ahashuarus (or Xerxes as the Gentiles say), Mordecai or the evil Haman. Girls would be Queen Esther… or Queen Vashti, if you wanted to be a rebel. We’d parade around the temple like contestants in a beauty pageant hoping to catch the judge’s eye.
One year, my mom made my sister and I the best costumes ever. We were the “Hamantashen Twins.” Dressed in black leggings and turtlenecks with giant posterboard triangles sandwiched over our shoulder, we were an awesome sight to behold. We even won first prize!
In the Bible, Esther had been chosen to be queen after the Queen Vashti was banished for disobeying the king’s wicked orders. The king’s advisor, Haman, hated the Jews and was plotting their destruction. Esther’s beloved relative, Mordecai, advised Esther that she must approach the king and plead for her people’s deliverance. When she told Mordecai that the king might kill her if she approached him uninvited, he responded “…And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” She heeded his advice, and with great wisdom and a little trickery, the nation of Israel was spared.
When we are faced with circumstances like my friend’s that are contrary to our beliefs, who knows if God has placed us there “for such a time as this?”
– Perhaps we are there to shine our light in a dark place.
– Maybe God will open opportunity for honest sharing.
– Or we might be there just to pray for the people involved.
– He might ask us to speak up (“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” Col. 4:6)
– Or He might want us to keep silent (“Even a fool, when [s]he keeps silent, is considered wise.” Prov. 17:28) and make it a matter of prayer.
– If He wants us to speak up, “do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Mt. 10:19-20
But we can be sure this one thing – that as we seek His will, He will guide us. As the world around us gets darker each day, will you be ready “for such a time as this?”
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Awesome post.
It is a dark world indeed and I try to let His light shine at all time, no matter how hard it may get. My His Spirit always be with me so that I can be an encouragement to others.