ESTHER 4:14

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

One of the unanswerable questions I’ve always had within myself is the question of my own existence. Why do I exist in an age that is plagued with Covid? Why do I exist in an age that is plagued with sexual immorality? Why do I exist in an age where abortion is considered a human right? Why do I exist in an age where homosexuality is celebrated? Why do I exist in an age inundated with inflation, insecurity and Christian persecution?

These thoughts engulf my mind and sometimes, they make me wish I was never born. Have these thoughts ever plagued your mind before?

Have you ever doubted the providence and predestining prowess of God?

Why was I born into this family?

Why was I born into this country?

Why was I born into this lineage?

Why was I born into this condition? The whys we ask fate are never ending, and sometimes, unanswerable.

However, one can take solace in the fact that nothing that has happened, that is happening or will happen to one is beyond the foreknowledge of God. The Bible says that we have been ‘predestined according to God’s purpose’ (Ephesians 1:11). That is to say, our birth is not by chance. God specifically chose the geographical location, lineage and family you should be born into. There is no accident in destiny!

The revelation of this fact serves as the foundation for our primary text. Esther, the Jewish queen of Persia, finds herself in a perplexing situation in our text. Her people are on the verge of extinction due to the evil plans of a man named Haman. Esther, despite being a Jew, is flummoxed by the situation and does not act immediately.

This changes when Mordecai, her wise old uncle, approaches her and tells her the truth. One of the things he said to her stands out and is crucial in the context of this admonition. ‘And who knows whether thou art [not] come to the kingdom for such a time as this,’ he says.

Probably Esther had thought her enthronement as queen was a mere reward for her hard-work and beauty. Mordecai’s statement opened her eyes to see that her enthronement was actually a part of God’s plan to deliver the people of Israel.

She had no idea about this when she enrolled in the beauty pageantry. She had no idea about this when she was chosen to become the queen. It was at this moment that she realized that all this while, her steps from the streets to the palace had been ordained by God for the deliverance of her people.

This is a wonderful lesson and source of comfort for you as a believer. You may not get the desired answers to all of the whys you ask fate right now, but if you remain faithful to God, you will someday come to full understanding of it.

The story of Joseph exemplifies this. At the age of seventeen, the Christian icon was sold into slavery. When his friends were enjoying the warmth and comfort of their homes, he was working as a slave in the home of a foreigner. His situation deteriorated from slavery to imprisonment. Joseph, on the other hand, maintained his faith in God.

He had no complete understanding of God’s plan. Nonetheless, he was aware that God was in command. He walked by faith rather than sight. God eventually promoted him from the lowest level of Egypt’s prison to the highest office in the Egyptian political administration.

After revealing his identity to his brothers, they were sore afraid. However, he said to them, ‘God brought me here for this situation’.

You, like Joseph and Esther, were chosen for a time like this. You were purposefully brought into this world. You were born into your country and family at the perfect time.

If it was plagued with poverty, you were born there to be the bringer of wealth. If it is plagued with unbelief, you were born there to be the light to their darkened hearts. God chose you for this particular age!

That is why you are endowed with some of the skills you have! There are several pointers to the fact that there is a purpose for your existence in this time!

Therefore, like Mordecai admonished Esther, I admonish you to rise! To rise above complaining! To rise above complacency! To rise above asking the whys! I implore you to embrace the peculiarity of your purpose, to seek to know more about it. To trust in the Lord and let Him lead you into the fullness of your calling.  

You were chosen for a time as this!

This article was written by Nwodo Divine