This Sunday, we come to one of the most memorable lines in all the Bible. Mordecai challenges Esther to choose courage and risk her life to plead on behalf of her people. Mordecai famously asks, “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). In response, with bravery that makes all our hearts swell with pride, Esther will rise to meet the moment, and God will bring deliverance to His people through her risk-laden decision to intervene.
It is comforting to know that Esther’s courage did not arise because she was naturally bold. As we’ll see today, her initial response is one of deflection. The sinister plot and empire-wide scale of this pending threat at first seem too big for even the queen of Persia. The king, as we know, has a pattern of losing his cool when his wife steps out of line. Esther realizes how powerless she really is in the face of all that stands against her people. There are so many excuses that could be made, and yet, in the face of all the risks to her own life, Esther chooses to step out with courage and step out in faith.
What gave Esther such courage? Where did it come from? That’s the question we’ll be digging into. This courage didn’t come from within. Nor did it come from her circumstances. Esther realized something bigger was going on. She realized that the God who remains unnamed in the book, the One who is just out of sight, was not only Israel’s help in ages past, but their hope for years to come. He is the everlasting God, and Esther’s only hope. This is the moment Esther seeks the hidden face of God and discovers her courage to come out of hiding herself.
Could it be that the courage we need in our day will be found in just the same way? Who knows whether we have not come to this moment for such a time as this? For we are loved, more than we know!
