Our daily devotional is on Esther chapter 4, a pivotal moment in the story. When faced with devastating news, how do you respond—physically or spiritually? In Esther 4, the Jewish people receive word of their impending destruction, prompting a deep, communal mourning filled with fasting, weeping, and lamenting. In the midst of this, Esther is called upon to act, risking her own life. She has to decide whether to step forward in faith or stay silent. As we reflect on this chapter, let’s consider how we respond when faced with trials. Do we trust in God’s sovereignty, like Mordecai and Esther, understanding that we are where we are “for such a time as this”? To see what the devasting news that Esther is responding to in this chapter, please read the daily devotional on Esther 3.
Esther 4 Commentary by Allen J. Huth
Today, we continue our time in the Book of Esther by looking at chapter 4. What happens when you get bad news? Do you have a physical or spiritual response? Please read or listen to Esther 4.
What Is the Significance of Esther 4?
The Jews get the message of their pending destruction. There was great mourning among them with fasting, weeping, and lamenting. Do I have a spiritual response to bad news? Do I mourn or weep? Or do I shake my fist at God? How do you respond when you get bad news?
What Is the Story of Esther 4:14?
Esther gets the message from Mordecai, and he asks her to go to the king. She responds, “Hey, not so easy.” She had not been summoned by the king in thirty days. If she goes on her own, it may mean the risk of death. Mordecai expresses his faith in God, that He will deliver the Jews, or at least some of them. He also understands God’s sovereignty, saying Esther may have become queen, “for such a time as this” (v. 14), one of the most quoted lines in the Bible.
Our life is not a series of coincidences. We are where we are, doing what we are doing, under God’s sovereignty. Does God have a greater purpose? A mission, something we could do right from where we are “for such a time as this”? Esther had to figure out if she could be used of God. Can we? She fasted, prayed, sought the Lord, and counted the cost.
Did Esther Say if I Perish I Perish?
The greatest line in the Book of Esther is not 4:14, “for such a time as this”, but when she says, “if I perish, I perish” (v. 16). She was prepared to act, not sit by, not wait for someone else to do it. After counting the cost, she was willing to risk it all, “if I perish, I perish.”
What Is an Example of God’s Sovereign Will?
How well do we understand sovereignty in our own lives? Do we understand God is working through us, in us, around us, in our circumstances for His glory and His purpose? I had a lesson in sovereignty when I was fifteen years old. I was out riding in a car with a buddy when we had a car accident. A fatal car accident, I should have been dead. But God saved my life that day.
When He did, and I got home that night, I thought about the fact that I was not in control. I was the passenger in the car and I could have died that day. But for whatever reason, at fifteen years old, God saved my life. Teenagers die in car accidents all the time, so why did He save my life?
I thought about it lying on my bed that night and decided for whatever reason He saved my life, I was going to find that reason and was going to try to accomplish it for His glory. So I went about my life seeking God’s will for my life. And I stayed faithful. Now I have the opportunity to do the Ezra Project and work through The Gideons International to build the kingdom of God and see people come to saving faith in Christ.
What Is the Spiritual Sovereignty of God?
How has sovereignty played out in your own life? Have you been able to look around or look back on your circumstances and see God’s invisible hand directing the things of your life? Esther had to make a choice and so do we. Esther counts the cost and decides to respond with great faith and courage. She commits to three days of fasting and prayer. With that covering she will go to the king, risking her own life. Praying about things is one thing; taking action, risk, is a totally different level of faith.
From Esther 4, may we ponder the thought of sovereignty today–God working in, around, and through my life, seen or unseen. Think about God’s sovereignty in your life today.
Prayer
Father, I pray I might have a spiritual response to bad news. To first pray for a course of action, a willingness to act, then be brave enough to take the risk and act. I pray it, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
