Pastor's wife: I don’t have to be Esther, Ruth, Naomi, or Mary; I just need to be me

God had been working all through Esther’s life.  He is also working through ours.  Where are we right now that God has strategically placed us 'for such a time as this?' Are we living at His leading? ”

My beloved gifted me with The Women of the Bible Speak by Shannon Bream.  I’ve been digging into the lives and stories of 16 Bible girls, applying their wisdom to life today.

When I began the chapter on Esther, I wondered what new things God would show me.  (I will never, ever have learned it all this side of heaven.)  I am thrilled to say that He stirred my heart anew with love for this well-known Jewish woman.

Esther did not have to be Ruth, Naomi, or Mary, the mother of Jesus.  She just needed to be Esther, the woman God called her to be, where she was, when she was.  He had a plan for her just as He does for us. 

She had never heard Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him …”  Yet, she was a living, breathing example of that very verse.

Esther experienced hard times: both of her parents died.  There were good times:  her cousin, Mordecai, adopted her and raised her as his own daughter. God used both of those events to place Esther exactly where she needed to be in order to be chosen as a queen candidate for King Xerxes.

From orphan to the queen, God placed people in her life on her journey and gave her favor along the way.  While Esther was going through an exciting chapter in the palace, outside a war was raging against her people. 

Haman had been elevated to King Xerxes’ highest noble.  Rather than enjoying his new position, he became obsessed with the one thing he had not attained:  the respect of Mordecai. Haan’s hatred raged, spurring him to hatch a plan to destroy Mordecai and all of the Jews. 

Learning of Haman’s evil plan, Mordecai encouraged Esther to go to King Xerxes on their behalf. Mordecai declared the now-famous words, “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 4:12-14). 

She did not remain silent and deliverance did not arise from another place.  God gave her the courage to go to the king.  Ultimately, Haman’s plan to murder all the Jews was thwarted. 

“For if you remain silent…deliverance will arise from another place …”  Those words make an impact.  If I choose to remain silent or decide not to do something God has called me to do, He will use someone else.  I don’t want Him to use someone else.  That means, like Esther, I need to have the courage to speak and to move. 

God had been working all through Esther’s life.  He is also working through ours.  Where are we right now that God has strategically placed us “for such a time as this?”  Are we living at His leading? 

Thankfully, I don’t have to be Esther, Ruth, Naomi, or Mary.  I just need to be Dawn, the woman God calls me to be, where I am, in 2022.  He has a plan for me … if I’m willing. 
___

Dawn Reed is a pastor's wife and newspaper columnist. Reach her at preacherswife7@yahoo.com.