for such a time as this...

Esther 4:14b

"And who knows but that you have come to your royal position

for such a time as this?” 

(NIV)

"And who knows whether you have not attained royalty 

for such a time as this?”

(NASB)

"Who knows if perhaps you were made queen  

for just such a time as this?” 

(NLV)

"Maybe you were made queen

for just such a time as this."

(The Message)

Not matter which translation this verse is read in, the message is unmistakably clear. Esther was there for such a time as this.

I've been pondering that phrase for a few weeks now. How can this relate to my life? God has made it clear to me that there are many instances in my life that I was put where I was for such a time as this.

10 years ago, our family was making preparations to set out on the first half of a six month journey. This journey was called The Goliath Project. Our church gave Brian their blessing for us to take this trip. We left September 4th headed to Carson City, NV,  our first stop on a prayer journey across this nation. Our goal to pray in all the state capitols. We prayed specifically for each state and for our nation.

 
7 days into our trip something awful happened...9/11! We were in California at the time, we reacted like much of the country, disbelief and fear and lots of prayer. Our initial reaction was we needed to get home, we longed for the familiar. However, God soon showed us that continuing on praying for our country was exactly what we needed to be doing. This was a big "for such a time as this" moment. Did our prayers save a nation like Esther's actions saved her people? No. But we were obedient and maybe someday God will show us just what our prayers did do!

In 2004, we were sure that God was moving us to move. We thought we found the perfect church in a small town in Iowa, we interviewed there and our whole family fell in love with the town. A few days later we got the call that they were going with the other guy. We were so disappointed, but we had another church interested in us and we continued to pursue them. We were sure they liked us and would ask to interview us...wrong again! The message from God was clear:

So we went on with life content to stay put for the time. A few months later, a family in our church experienced a gut wrenching tragedy. We were there "for such a time as this" in their lives. We cried with them, prayed with them and helped them move on in the midst of pain. Our church family rallied in an amazing way for this family. Would this family have made it through this time without us? Yes, but God allowed us to be part of something so powerful, "for such a time as this". Several months later the second church who had turned us down called us back and we have been in that church for 6 years now! God kept us in Colorado just  a bit longer "for such a time as this".

Those are two of many examples in my life of God placing my family somewhere "for such a time as this". How about you? Has God placed you somewhere for such a time as this? I think when we begin to look at things through God-colored glasses it becomes easier to see those times. God can use us in big and small ways. It could be as simple as letting that harried mom go first in the grocery line, or smiling at an elderly person in church or as big as giving someone a meal when they were hungry or comforting a family in the midst of sorrow. We may never know all the ways God uses us "for such a time as this", but won't it be fun someday to be given an account of those times that God used us! Let's just not be so caught up in our own lives that we miss these opportunities to be used by God and to be a blessing to others!