A Time Such As This - April 2005

Picture from Creative Watch Co.UK

Have you ever stopped to think about just how much power you control by just being where you are at the moment. This week we ask the question, are you alive for - such a time as this.

Esther 4:10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 "All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king."

Esther 4:12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, 13 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. 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?"

This was the question Mordecai posed to Esther when he ask her if God had placed her in her current position (a Queen) at this point in her life where she could help her people (the Jews). The Jews were not merely being sold into slavery, but being forced into a place where they would be annihilated and/or destroyed. Esther was a queen, but she had little direct power. What she did have was access to the king. If she could get King Xerxes to ease the burdens on the Jews, and eliminate their oppressor Haman, then it could provide a means of relief for her people. There was risk involved in this though. By speaking to the king about the plight of the Jews she would expose herself as a Jew, a fact that she had kept private until this point. She also risked being killed for asking King Xerxes for such relief if he was offended by the request. In the end she did ask the king for relief for the Jews and her request was granted. Haman, their oppressor, was executed, Esther was granted Haman’s lands, and Mordecai was appointed overseer of those lands. Mordecai was also raised to a position of honor within the kingdom, and given the power to relieve the Jewish plight and defend the Jews against those that would come against them.

All of Esther’s life up to that point had prepared her and positioned her for such a time as this. The same is and can be true of your life. You are exactly where God wants and needs you to be to accomplish all that He has for you at this time. Think about the influence and power that your position gives you. You may not be king or queen, but you do influence others. Maybe it is at work, or at home, or at school, or at church, or within any other number of social, political or religious organizations and groups. Regardless of your current position you by living influence and impact others. God has a reason and a purpose for your current position and He has a plan to use you in that position to build, strength or expand His kingdom.

God has placed you where you need to be to accomplish His will and plan for your life. You are and were specially created for what you are going to accomplish. When you accepted Christ you were given spiritual gifts, and those gifts, along with God’s guidance and protection, will lead you where you are to go and will give you the ability to accomplish what you are suppose to once you get there.

The people around us, both supporters and detractors, have made us and continue to make us who we are. The supporters encourage and build us up, and the detractors help to keep us on track by making us stick to the standards we claim to have. Detractors also fuel our energy to continue on our path via their attacks and their attempts to stop us. Never forget, to win, or to have victory, you have to overcome, defeat, or better someone or something that opposes you. The people around us when combined with our past, with our society, and with our community make us who we are. All of these forces combine to hone us where we can perform the tasks that are before us.

All of your past, your education, your career, your culture, your surroundings, your relationships (both good and bad), go to togther to make you uniquely prepared for what God has for you. Think about what you have learned from your past successes and failures. Those lessons have taught you how to handle the situations that arise in your life today. They also help you teach others how to navigate around those same issues when they arise in their lives. Your education gives you the ability to explain and analyze issues and situations. Your culture gives you a basis for what you consider important, what you value. It also gives you an area where you fit in easily, and also creates places that are more difficult for you to blend in. Your neighborhood, your friends, and your family all determine how you react, how you express yourself, how you reason and how you judge people. This makes you unique. This uniqueness is exactly what you need to accomplish what God has planned for you.

Now this is not to say that we need to sin, need to be worldly or need to be immoral to be usable by God. That is absolutely not true. God does not need us or desire us to sin for us to have experiences that may make us more palatable to the world. The world does not need anymore examples of fallen Christians, and God calls us to die to self, and our selfish ways when we follow Him. All God does is meet us where we are and take us to where we need to be. Part of where we are, and what we are going through, is what makes up the things that have gotten us to our current point. Those are the very things that God takes and then uses to lead us to where we are heading to next.

You and your life have purpose in God’s Kingdom, not due to you or your actions, but due to God and His grace. God simply takes what you have been, where you have been, who you are, what you have the potential to be, and molds you into who you need to be. That molding process is what gives you the purpose and the direction for your life. It is also what places you in the positions to accomplish what you are called.

You have been appointed to serve God for a time that is just like this moment, in a place just like where you currently are. God has a reason for you being there. When He is done using you in your current position or placement then He will lead you to your next place of service. We may want to go somewhere else, but God has a reason for leaving us where we are. Trust Him, follow Him, and serve Him. If you do that you will understand what He has made you uniquely for, and He will prosper your work, insure your future, bless you to abundance, and guide you along His path for your life.

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	Picture from Creative Watch Co.UK Have you ever stopped to think about just how much power you control by just being where you are at the moment. This week we ask the question, are you alive for - such a time as this. Esther 4:10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 "All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king." Esther 4:12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, 13 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. 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?" This was the question Mordecai posed to Esther when he ask her if God had placed her in her current position (a Queen) at this point in her life where she could help her people (the Jews). The Jews were not merely being sold into slavery, but being forced into a place where they would be annihilated and/or destroyed. Esther was a queen, but she had little direct power. What she did have was access to the king. If she could get King Xerxes to ease the burdens on the Jews, and eliminate their oppressor Haman, then it could provide a means of relief for her people. There was risk involved in this though. By speaking to the king about the plight of the Jews she would expose herself as a Jew, a fact that she had kept private until this point. She also risked being killed for asking King Xerxes for such relief if he was offended by the request. In the end she did ask the king for relief for the Jews and her request was granted. Haman, their oppressor, was executed, Esther was granted Haman’s lands, and Mordecai was appointed overseer of those lands. Mordecai was also raised to a position of honor within the kingdom, and given the power to relieve the Jewish plight and defend the Jews against those that would come against them. All of Esther’s life up to that point had prepared her and positioned her for such a time as this. The same is and can be true of your life. You are exactly where God wants and needs you to be to accomplish all that He has for you at this time. Think about the influence and power that your position gives you. You may not be king or queen, but you do influence others. Maybe it is at work, or at home, or at school, or at church, or within any other number of social, political or religious organizations and groups. Regardless of your current position you by living influence and impact others. God has a reason and a purpose for your current position and He has a plan to use you in that position to build, strength or expand His kingdom. God has placed you where you need to be to accomplish His will and plan for your life. You are and were specially created for what you are going to accomplish. When you accepted Christ you were given spiritual gifts, and those gifts, along with God’s guidance and protection, will lead you where you are to go and will give you the ability to accomplish what you are suppose to once you get there. The people around us, both supporters and detractors, have made us and continue to make us who we are. The supporters encourage and build us up, and the detractors help to keep us on track by making us stick to the standards we claim to have. Detractors also fuel our energy to continue on our path via their attacks and their attempts to stop us. Never forget, to win, or to have victory, you have to overcome, defeat, or better someone or something that opposes you. The people around us when combined with our past, with our society, and with our community make us who we are. All of these forces combine to hone us where we can perform the tasks that are before us. All of your past, your education, your career, your culture, your surroundings, your relationships (both good and bad), go to togther to make you uniquely prepared for what God has for you. Think about what you have learned from your past successes and failures. Those lessons have taught you how to handle the situations that arise in your life today. They also help you teach others how to navigate around those same issues when they arise in their lives. Your education gives you the ability to explain and analyze issues and situations. Your culture gives you a basis for what you consider important, what you value. It also gives you an area where you fit in easily, and also creates places that are more difficult for you to blend in. Your neighborhood, your friends, and your family all determine how you react, how you express yourself, how you reason and how you judge people. This makes you unique. This uniqueness is exactly what you need to accomplish what God has planned for you. Now this is not to say that we need to sin, need to be worldly or need to be immoral to be usable by God. That is absolutely not true. God does not need us or desire us to sin for us to have experiences that may make us more palatable to the world. The world does not need anymore examples of fallen Christians, and God calls us to die to self, and our selfish ways when we follow Him. All God does is meet us where we are and take us to where we need to be. Part of where we are, and what we are going through, is what makes up the things that have gotten us to our current point. Those are the very things that God takes and then uses to lead us to where we are heading to next. You and your life have purpose in God’s Kingdom, not due to you or your actions, but due to God and His grace. God simply takes what you have been, where you have been, who you are, what you have the potential to be, and molds you into who you need to be. That molding process is what gives you the purpose and the direction for your life. It is also what places you in the positions to accomplish what you are called. You have been appointed to serve God for a time that is just like this moment, in a place just like where you currently are. God has a reason for you being there. When He is done using you in your current position or placement then He will lead you to your next place of service. We may want to go somewhere else, but God has a reason for leaving us where we are. Trust Him, follow Him, and serve Him. If you do that you will understand what He has made you uniquely for, and He will prosper your work, insure your future, bless you to abundance, and guide you along His path for your life.