When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “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
When we look at this moment in Esther’s life, we see a young woman who didn’t choose her position and didn’t ask for the pressure placed on her. She was living quietly in the background, and suddenly she found herself in a situation where her obedience to God could make a real difference.
Mordecai’s message to her is direct. He tells her that staying silent won’t protect her, and that her role as queen doesn’t remove her responsibility. He also tells her that God will preserve His people, but she has the opportunity to step forward and be part of what God is doing.
Those words still speak to us today. Most of us don’t wake up feeling like we’re in important positions. We just go to work, care for our families, show up in our communities, and try to be faithful. But sometimes God places us in a specific moment — with a particular person, or situation, or decision — and asks us to respond with courage.
Esther wasn’t asked to be someone she wasn’t. She wasn’t asked to do what she couldn’t do. She was simply asked to use the place she was already at. And that’s often how God works with us. He uses our ordinary settings. The people right in front of us. The responsibilities we already carry.
“For such a time as this” doesn’t only apply to big dramatic events. It can describe the quiet opportunities God gives us every day — the chance to speak truth graciously, to stand with someone who feels alone, to act with integrity when it would be easier not to, to reflect God’s heart in the situation we’re facing.
Esther didn’t know how things would turn out. She only knew that she couldn’t ignore the moment. And when she chose obedience, God met her there and used her in ways she couldn’t have predicted.
So today, we can ask God a simple question: “What have You placed in front of me, and how can I honor You in it?” We don’t need a platform or a title. We just need a willing heart.
May God give us the insight to recognize the moments He places before us, and the courage to step into them with faith — trusting that He is already at work, just as He was in Esther’s life. Amen.
Former Blackout Artist 