Esther 4 – Catch Me!

Esther 4 – Catch Me!
Its foolish to think that the Creator NEEDS his creation to do anything. We were created for his pleasure, to bring Him glory and to honor Him. But what about our purpose?
I’ve had several Esther moments in my life…..some I’ve stood up and done what I felt compelled by God to do….others I’ve shied away from. Never once was I faced with peril though.
Mordecai brought great perspective to Esther. He said in verse 14 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?"
I think that I’ve thought of this verse, coupled with Romans 12:1. in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[ act of worship….. whenever I am making, what I believe to be critical Kingdom decisions, no matter the size.
Not that my action or inaction will affect the Kingdom of God one iota…..but it will affect my faith….and possibly that of a few people around me.
Mordecai, pointed this out to Esther when he told her that if she remained silent, help would come from somewhere else….I don’t think this was desperate attempt to get some ‘insider help’ as much as it was a spiritual gut check. Granted the stakes were very high for Esther, Mordecai and the rest of the Jews in Babylon, but Mordecai was reminding Esther of the God who took Moses to the edge to the edge of the Red Sea, the God who caused David to pick up the stones, and the God who told Joshua to march around the walls of Jericho…..all reluctant heroes of FAITH.
In the summer…..Tate and I play a game in the pool called Catch Me. No matter where each of us in the pool….if we yell to the other….CATCH ME!.....the yeller takes one last breath and curls up in a cannonball and plunges under the water. The saver…swims as hard and fast as they can….and catch the human ‘bobber’ and bring them to the surface….loads of fun.
But when Tate asks me to do the Trust Fall with her…..on dry land…this is only going to work one way…and that way is if the one capable of catching (me) is the one being trusted. As much as she’d like me to….I just can’t trust her to catch me, if I were to just fall back toward her.
When we are faced with Kingdom decisions (loving our neighbors, talking about our faith, standing up for injustice, serving outside of ourselves, living on mission) ….I think that it is key to trust the one capable of catching/rescuing us. God wants us to take that small (relative to Esther’s) step of faith and trust him to…..CATCH ME!