Friday, November 25, 2005
For Such A Time as This
It's been a while since I posted something new on here. After completing the 40 Days of Purpose - Purpose Driven Life study at my church, I'm convinced that I should post my Bible Study & Quiet time thoughts here a bit more... So today I had a particularly good quiet time from our new study and figured I'd post it here.
For Such A Time as This
I fell behind my reading for small group, but the lesson from Monday, which I just did, seems appropriate for my day today. Monday's study was from Esther 4.
"Do you 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 royal position for such a time as this?" - Esther 4:13-14
The king was about to allow the mass execution of the Jews and Esther, being a queen, had the chance to say something. Doing so would have risked her life. This was Mordecai's response to her hesitation. "For such a time as this-" This was her moment. God had been building her up for use in his kingdom and she was afraid. In the end she goes and her actions save the Jews. God honors her actions, her faith.
Esther was worried about her future but she had to do something in her time - at the moment. And God had scheduled that moment perfectly. Her life played out for his purpose and she obeyed.
Could you be at a "such a time as this" moment today? Are you following God's purpose today? His purpose for you could be rest, it could be prayer, it could be before a king. Whatever it is, do it with the determination of Esther. Going before the king, she said, "If I perish, I perish." - Esther 4:16
She had prayed and considered and sought the Lord and moved with the confidence to know that whatever the outcome would be, it was in God's hands - her life was in God's hands and the final chapter would be written by him.
Esther had lived a long life before that moment. Yet there was much that happened to get her there. Today, can you say that you are the same as you were two years ago? five? ten? No. Your goals may be the same, they may not, but your life experiences and lessons have made you a different person. If those have been met through Christ, you can trust that he is molding you into something, someone better, closer to him.
But the truth is that we are not at the end of our journey. We have not yet finished our call, our purposes. In each of our lives we long for direction. We long to know the direction of our lives and we want to see what the overall tapestry looks like.
Along the way God provides moments of inspiration - moments of revelation. When they come, we must cherish them, ponder them, and act on them. These are the "for such a time" moments. But it takes preparation to get us there. In the preparation, Habakkuk tells us...
"I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me... Then the Lord replied: 'Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time... Though it linger, wait for it: it will certainly come and will not delay." - Habakkuk 2:1-3
In our lives he is preparing us for good works that he has planned. When he shows those to us, we must act. We must write it down and run with it for it's what he's been building for us - for you.
"For such a time as this" is your calling. When it comes, jump up and rejoice - God has met your wait and is using all of you in his work.
It's been a while since I posted something new on here. After completing the 40 Days of Purpose - Purpose Driven Life study at my church, I'm convinced that I should post my Bible Study & Quiet time thoughts here a bit more... So today I had a particularly good quiet time from our new study and figured I'd post it here.
For Such A Time as This
I fell behind my reading for small group, but the lesson from Monday, which I just did, seems appropriate for my day today. Monday's study was from Esther 4.
"Do you 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 royal position for such a time as this?" - Esther 4:13-14
The king was about to allow the mass execution of the Jews and Esther, being a queen, had the chance to say something. Doing so would have risked her life. This was Mordecai's response to her hesitation. "For such a time as this-" This was her moment. God had been building her up for use in his kingdom and she was afraid. In the end she goes and her actions save the Jews. God honors her actions, her faith.
Esther was worried about her future but she had to do something in her time - at the moment. And God had scheduled that moment perfectly. Her life played out for his purpose and she obeyed.
Could you be at a "such a time as this" moment today? Are you following God's purpose today? His purpose for you could be rest, it could be prayer, it could be before a king. Whatever it is, do it with the determination of Esther. Going before the king, she said, "If I perish, I perish." - Esther 4:16
She had prayed and considered and sought the Lord and moved with the confidence to know that whatever the outcome would be, it was in God's hands - her life was in God's hands and the final chapter would be written by him.
Esther had lived a long life before that moment. Yet there was much that happened to get her there. Today, can you say that you are the same as you were two years ago? five? ten? No. Your goals may be the same, they may not, but your life experiences and lessons have made you a different person. If those have been met through Christ, you can trust that he is molding you into something, someone better, closer to him.
But the truth is that we are not at the end of our journey. We have not yet finished our call, our purposes. In each of our lives we long for direction. We long to know the direction of our lives and we want to see what the overall tapestry looks like.
Along the way God provides moments of inspiration - moments of revelation. When they come, we must cherish them, ponder them, and act on them. These are the "for such a time" moments. But it takes preparation to get us there. In the preparation, Habakkuk tells us...
"I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what he will say to me... Then the Lord replied: 'Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time... Though it linger, wait for it: it will certainly come and will not delay." - Habakkuk 2:1-3
In our lives he is preparing us for good works that he has planned. When he shows those to us, we must act. We must write it down and run with it for it's what he's been building for us - for you.
"For such a time as this" is your calling. When it comes, jump up and rejoice - God has met your wait and is using all of you in his work.
