Purpose For Life
Good Morning,
Many times, God is busy working, yet men have no concept that He is. Consider the situations surrounding one's salvation or the great success of a business. These situations often seem random, but we understand that God works exactly where He sees fit.
Such was the case when Israel was in captivity and Satan had set out to destroy the people of God. Haman (as other satanic men throughout history have done) sought to kill the Jews. Esther had providentially found herself in the palace of the king, but the information that she was a Jewess was still not known. Mordecai asked Esther to approach the king, but that could only be done at great risk to her life. Mordecai said the choice was hers to make, but God would save Israel one way or another. Esther had a chance to be a part of something God was going to do; the choice was hers.
Esther 4:14 “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Notice several truths from this passage.
1. The choice to speak up or not is ours to make.
"For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time..." This might refer to soul winning, speaking a word of praise or encouragement, or perhaps teaching a class at your church. There will be times placed specifically before us when we have an opportunity to be involved in the work of God.
2. God will get His work done one way or another.
"...then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place..." God has plans to accomplish, and He will find a way to fulfill those plans. God will be sure to accomplish His plans, with or without us. I am not saying everything will turn out great even if we fail to do our duty. The children God gave us will not turn out the same if we do not do our Scriptural duty. A marriage will not be the same if we do not each treat our spouse in a biblical manner. Missionaries will not have the same provision they might have had if we do not give financially. In all these situations, God will help folks survive, and somehow they will get along, but the end result will not be what it could have been. Life will be more difficult. Struggles will be greater, and trials will be more fierce. God will find a "Plan B" and folks will continue to go on through life; the solution will just have to come from somewhere else.
3. We will lose if we do not jump in and do what God has led us to do.
"...but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed..." We do not know all that would have happened if Esther had not stood up for her people, but it appears that her family would have suffered for her failure.
Consider the story of Esther and what Haman might have accomplished if Esther had not stood for God and right. Haman was an evil man, a man who was thoughtless of life and an enemy of God and decency. Without a doubt, Haman was a tool in the hands of Satan. What evil might have been accomplished in future years if Esther had not stepped out of her comfort zone? Man cannot force events. We may be able to see little inklings of what might be or not be, but only God can see the potential of a given hour. For this reason, He asks us to live by faith and to trust Him.
When I started Faith Baptist, if I had not been willing to do what I had never done before (go without financial resources and live a different life), there is no telling what would have happened in thousands of situations: More than a dozen churches might never have been started, thousands of people might never have been saved, and tens of thousands of people might never have heard the Gospel. People may not have been fed, the lonely may not have felt loved, the hurting may not have been helped, the broken may not have been given hope, and countless unknown good things may not have been accomplished if my wife had not been willing to live on a shoestring.
4. What evil was suppressed by our presence?
What evil was suppressed by your proper behavior that may have run rampant without your decision to stand for God and right? We might see the hurt and suffering in our lives and wish we had not been there or done that, but how much more terrible might it have been without the good that you brought into that world? Too much good has been accomplished for me to despair about the wrong around me. Enormous good has been accomplished by the people of God who stepped out to serve Him. The wrong that Satan has slipped into our world would only have been greater without us. Would Jesus have wished not to come to earth because he knew Judas would betray Him? Would Peter have regretted following Christ and preaching Pentecost because he went to prison unjustly? Would Paul have looked from Heaven and regretted his decision to follow the Lord, having known all of the sufferings he would face, but also knowing the Bible books that would be written by his hand? I think each of these people would do what they did again and a thousand times more if the chance was given to them.
5. There is a reason (a reason unique to me) that I am here.
Esther 4:14 “...who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Mother, your children will grow up with or without a Bible-reading mom, but life will be easier and more honoring to God if you do walk with God. God will receive much more glory and you will have fewer sorrows from a situation lived properly – but the choice is up to you. You can either miss out or glean the blessing of being the grateful participant in the eternal work of God in the hearts of eternal souls. Dad, you can choose to be the father who sits in church with his family and teaches them the importance of loving God, the Bible, and the house of God. But if those children care, God will find a way to get His work done without you; you will simply miss out on the blessing of doing something spectacular and eternal. Dad, in the long run, you will suffer loss for your failure to perform the duties God outlined in the Scriptures. Whether God has you on this earth to work a Sunday school class or sing in the choir, He has designed specific jobs for you to perform – and no one can do them just like you can do them.
Giving to your church will help you more than it will help the church. Supporting missionaries financially will help the giver more than the recipient. We have the opportunity to be a part of the work of God, and we have been invited to partake in heavenly plans. We will be eternally rewarded for serving the Master and His ministry.
I am here on earth for a reason. There is a reason for my background, my physical and emotional makeup, and my education – for “…such a time as this." (Esther 4:14)
If we quit on our church and go back to our old lives, God will find a way to continue His ministry, but it is we who will "suffer loss." (1 Corinthians 3:15) We might sit in church doing nothing, yet know we can participate in the bus ministry, a rest home service, or a Sunday school class. Service is our choice; God will accomplish His goals one way or another, but we are the ones who will suffer the loss. No one is more perfectly fitted for a job than we are; we are each exactly what God needs for a specific situation.
At one point, I found myself directing the choir at our church, and I loved it, but I was probably not the one God had specifically trained for the job. I was simply a willing substitute.
I might move to another city for money. In so doing, I may pull my children away from a key influence in their lives. With that move, my children may be directed to a different college, have different friends and teachers in school and church, and may, perhaps, find a different spouse. Who knows what hardship my children will face because of my desire for worldly prosperity. I will suffer loss as I and my family fail to participate in key events that God specifically designed for us to accomplish for His eternal glory.
Some people might feel that one path might be more difficult than another, but how difficult was the path Esther traveled? She suffered the loss of her family and her nation, and she was married to a heathen king – but she was exactly where God wanted her - "for such a time as this." She has been recorded in the eternal Bible to encourage all of us to do our duty to God and men.
How much better might our lives had been had choices been made for God and eternity rather than convenience and money? John warns about some who will be ashamed at the appearing of Christ.
1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."
May we be prayerful, careful, diligent, and spiritual in all the things we do or do not do. "That no man take thy crown." (Revelation 3:11)
Pastor