There are no coincidences. Things do not happen by chance. When I am tempted to think the opposite, I always find my mind filtering back through the events leading up to a particular event or time in my life. What could appear as an accident, a random event, or something ordinary and mundane might actually lead to something greater, because God is in control, behind the scenes, plotting our paths for us.
So, imagine you are Esther. You are a Jewish woman who “wins” a spot in the King’s heart. You have a place of favor, even though you have strict rules of conduct and association to follow. Was all of this by accident? Was it just luck that took her to the ruler’s home? No.
As I stated in my last post for Esther, Chapter 3, Haman was out to exterminate the Jews in King Xerxes’ vast kingdom. Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, knew this information and reported everything he knew of Haman’s plans to her via a middle-man. Was this all by chance? No.
God knew His people were out of line with His will and He also knew that He wanted His promises fulfilled with His people. Even when they weren’t faithful to God, He knew He had to be faithful to them because of His plan. So, He worked behind the scenes. Placing people where they needed to be, even if it seemed out of the realm of sense. Because of that society, Esther should not have risen to the position she had, but she did.
Esther was hesitant to help Mordecai, though. Approaching the king to speak to him, not summoned to do so, was grounds for death unless he pardoned the brave soul. Mordecai warned her, though, that she would suffer the same end as all of the other Jews. Keeping her mouth shut would not save her own life.
“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 royal position for such a time as this?”
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” –Esther 4:12-16
“For such a time as this…”
Not only does God show us favor and blessings as He wills, be He also does it so that we can be used to further His plans.
Countless times what I thought was a chance meeting, an accident, or a frustrating delay turned out to be something that God used to take my life in different, yet blessed directions.
Sometimes God has us where He has us, just so we are in the right place, “for such a time as this.”
