For Such a Time as This
Have you ever felt isolated? Like no one totally understands who you are or what your purpose is? I think we all have felt this at one time or another.
And I have to believe this is how Queen Esther felt. Just to give you a little Bible story refresher, Esther along with her cousin Mordecai were Jews who lived in Persia. One night King Ahasuerus summoned Queen Vashti. Vashti refused to submit to the King’s authority so he vanished her as queen and began to look for a new queen. He gathered every beautiful virgin woman in the kingdom and Esther was among them.
Because of God’s divine intervention, Esther was chosen to be the new queen of Persia. I’m sure in that moment though, Esther didn’t see God’s hand in this. She was a Jew in a foreign palace and Mordecai was the only one who knew her secret. As if these changes and secrets weren’t enough, King Ahasuerus’ right-hand man Haman hated the Jews and Mordecai became his mortal enemy when he refused to bow down to Haman.
As you can imagine this didn’t sit well with the prideful and power crazed Haman. So he went to the King and told him the Jews were a threat to the Kingdom and requested that he be given the power to put all the Jews to death. The King granted this request and Haman went to work on his evil plan. When the Jews found out about the decree they were of course distraught. Mordecai sent a servant to notify Queen Esther of the devastating news. He begged her to go to the King to reveal she was a Jew so the massacre wouldn’t take place. Esther told the servant to explain to Mordecai that she could be put to death if she went to her husband without being summoned. Then Mordecai uttered these famous profound words: “…And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
I understand why Mordecai persisted in convincing Esther to go to the King. He and all of his race had an unexpected expiration date. But I also get why Esther was so hesitant to go. She was totally alone. She was isolated from Mordecai and her race. I mean the only way she could talk to her only mentor was through servants. No one understood her or what her purpose was. But I think when the servant gave her Mordecai’s profound words, Esther’s heart began to whisper, “Is this who I am? Is this my purpose?”
I’ve felt like Esther before and I think it’s why I’ve always felt drawn to this famous queen in the Bible. Growing up kids my age and people around me didn’t totally understand who I was or what my purpose could be. When you live with an invisible illness that isn’t well known, people become skeptical of your authenticity. I felt isolated. From where I stood there was no one who completely understood what I was going through or had similar circumstances I could relate too. But in my early 20’s this changed and I gained many dear friends who accepted and encouraged me. They didn’t question whether my story was real or not. So the isolation I felt most of my life began to fade.
In 2016 when I attended the dissertation of the student who discovered my gene mutation, finding out the name of the disease would be MAGIS Syndrome, a name that meant MORE in Latin, my heart whispered “Is this who I am? Is this my purpose?” In the last two years, I have found it is. That day at the University of Philadelphia was just the beginning. God called me to show people they are MORE than their circumstances. Where ever I share my story my message is the same, You are MORE! But if I never experienced the years of isolation and loneliness, I wouldn’t be able to assure people that conquering their mountain is possible. You see, before I even knew it, God had chosen me. He called me. He set me apart. For such a time as this.
He did the same exact thing for Esther too. Esther heeded Mordecai’s wise advice and went to the King revealing her secret. Guess what? Her actions saved the whole Jewish race. Esther had been chosen. Esther was called. She was set apart. God used her for such a time as this.
I don’t know what you’re going through. Maybe you feel isolated. Maybe it seems like people around you don’t truly understand you or what your purpose is. But I want to encourage you that God will reveal to you in His perfect time exactly who you are.
Maybe you’ll save a nation.
Maybe you’ll share with people that they are MORE.
Whatever you live to do remember you are already chosen. You are called. You have been set apart. And God will use you in a mighty way for such a time as this.
