LIFE VERSES: Esther 4:14 (2016-2021)

I remember the first time I truly stopped and thought about this verse in Esther. It was in a store and the translation on the item put Esther’s story into a completely different perspective for me. It would take a while for the Lord to get through my thick head to actually realize He was wanting to change my perspective on MY life but we will get to that. 

I love Esther’s story. The romance, intrigue, bravery. It has it all BUT if I’m honest, she’s a bit harder to relate to than say, our girl, Ruth. The NIV translation of Esther 4:14 reads, “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?” While I definitely wanted to be a princess growing up, I’ve never actually found myself in a royal palace and I certainly have never found myself as the one whose bravery and entire race of people is depending on. Her story is fantastic and Mordecai’s reminder of her purpose was a bit lost on me until I ended up in a place I did not want to be with a purpose very much attached. 

It’s a long story but let’s just say that teaching wasn’t on my to-do list as a career when I graduated college. Actually, it was one of the few to-don’ts! That’s a story you can read about elsewhere and how God has a sense of humor in His weaving together of our lives but I most definitely found myself sat in a classroom with over 30 darlings staring back and a bit of panic in my gut. Truthfully, I was angry because this wasn’t the plan. I was confused because I had worked really hard AND prayed really hard about the plan. And I was looking for any way out if I could find it. That’s the first time this new translation of Esther 4:14 waltzed into my life. Actually, I’m not sure it’s really a translation, more like a paraphrase…

“Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created…”

Simple and to the point. No royal palaces or mass destruction. Just a simple perspective. THIS MOMENT. What if, just by chance, I was in fact created to be a teacher? Now, if you’ve heard any of my story in the seventeen years between that question and now, you’ll laugh. Clearly, I WAS created for this moment right here. I haven’t saved any nations nor have I stood up to an evil schemer… well, maybe I have done that last bit but my purpose was just as clearly crafted as Esther’s. 

Here’s the thing, I didn’t “take this on” as my life verse for another five years because I didn’t truly appreciate how far reaching this concept is and how much Esther’s life can really teach us. In 2016, I turned the big 3-0 and I was horrified, not because I was getting old but because I felt so behind. I was single. I didn’t have my dream house. I didn’t have a great car. My friends were getting married, having kids, buying what appeared to be chateaus and going on adventures right, left and center. I was so overwhelmed by how wrong everything was… according to my plan…AGAIN!

It took nearly all year for me to finally recognize that if this perspective applied to my career, it probably applied to all of my life. Why am I single? Because I was created for this moment and the things that singleness allows within that purpose. Why do I live where I live? Because I have purpose in that moment. Why am I in the Bible Fellowship I’m in? Yep, it’s my current purpose. It doesn’t mean our purposes can’t change, grow, shift and settle but it does mean that even when we are in the midst of a season we don’t particularly care for we can look around and think, “Perhaps this is the moment for which I’ve been created” and if you aren’t sure about your purpose within that moment, ask God what you’re missing. He’s very rarely a God of random. It’s all woven together with intent and thought. We just miss it at times. So, what in this moment have you been clearly created for?