LifeDate Spring 2025 – For Such a Time
by Michelle Bauman, Director of Y4Life
Worry and fear. Esther knew them well.
Okay. I admit it. I’m a lot like Esther. I’m guessing you are, too. And not like the brave, triumphant Esther we see at the end of her story in the Old Testament. No, I find myself able to relate to the other Esther—the one whose first responses are worry and fear—more often than I’d like.
Perhaps you’ve felt a kinship with her, too. Perhaps that kinship began with a career change. Or an unexpected pregnancy. Perhaps it took root when your beloved pastor announced he was taking a call. Or when your father received a cancer diagnosis.
Worry and fear. They’re often bedfellows. And Esther knew them well.
How can I be certain? Because when Esther was asked to speak on behalf of her people, when she had the chance to save them from certain death, she wavered. She came up with excuses not to do so. She reminded her cousin Mordecai that entering the King’s presence without being called into it meant certain death. And Esther didn’t want to die. Esther was both worried and afraid.
Can we blame her? Esther’s fears were, after all, valid. Married to a spoiled, self-centered ruler who took pleasure in his power and didn’t mind abusing it, Esther knew all too well what could befall her: Shame. Banishment. Death.
King Ahasuerus was not a man to meddle with.
Add to his temperament (his proclivity for making decisions based on emotion rather than logic) the reality that he had not called Esther into his presence in over 30 days, and we have to admit that she found herself in a fearsome situation. Their marriage was certainly not a love match. She was part of a harem. What confidence, what certainty, could she have had that she would be received by him? None whatsoever.
And that reality filled her with worry and fear.
But Esther was blessed with an uncle who knew the answer to fear and worry, an uncle who reminded her of God’s promises:
“Here are the facts,” Mordecai said, “You are a Jew. The verdict applies to you as well. Whether you speak or not, God will deliver His people. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).
For such a time as this. Those were powerful words centuries ago, and they are powerful words today. Mordecai used them to point out the obvious: Esther was perfectly placed to uphold the lives of her people. God had brought her to this time and place to speak for them.
It’s true, Mordecai’s words didn’t take Esther’s fears away completely. She fasted and asked for prayers, and I’m guessing her knees still wobbled when she entered the courts. But Mordecai’s words reminded Esther that she was not alone. God would deliver His people. And He would be with her, too. Mordecai’s words moved Esther to compassionate action. For the sake of others, she would risk shame, banishment, and death. For the sake of others, she would find a way to speak for life.
For such a time as this. Those six little words affirmed that Esther’s life was not an accident. She was planned. She was placed. And Yahweh, the one true God, was working in and through her for good.
And those six little words still apply today. God has planned you for this time and place. And Yahweh, the one true God, is working in and through you for good, too.
Just like He did for Esther, God has placed you in relationships. He has given you vocations—son, daughter, husband, wife, friend, coworker, classmate—where you are perfectly placed to serve and uphold the lives of others.
It’s certainly true that sometimes the time and place He brings you to can be scary. You might be asked to speak the truth in love when you know it won’t be received well. It could require carrying a cross you’re certain you can’t bear. And it might even involve facing rejection, shame, and banishment.
But like Esther, God promises to go with you, too. For the sake of others, He strengthens you to speak for life. God stands with you when you march for the unborn, and He speaks through you when you comfort the grieving. He holds the hand of the cancer patient, kisses the feverish brow of a child, and provides a meal for the hungry man strung out on drugs because God chooses to work through YOU.
Mordecai and his cousin Esther are long gone. They have received their crowns of glory, and though their lives were short in the great expanse of time, their lives were meaningful. They were loved by God Himself, and through each of them, God loved and upheld the lives of others.
Despite their age, Mordecai’s words still speak to us today, encouraging us to remember God’s promises. Even if they may not take away all of our fears or worries, may they move us to compassionate action for the sake of others. May they move us to speak and act for LIFE.