Esther is the only book in the Bible named after a woman, and God goes unmentioned. But God is working behind the scenes in Esther’s life- just like He does in ours. Esther was a beautiful Jewish young woman who was chosen to be part of King Xerxes harem. God placed Esther in this position which at first, certainly doesn’t seem appealing, and I’m sure wasn’t what Esther dreamed of as a little girl.
Fast forward, and you see Queen Vashti disobeys an order from her husband, the King, and is banished, and we can assume dealt with harshly. So now King Xerxes looks for a new Queen within his harem and chooses an unlikely candidate, because of her upbringing, Esther.
As Queen, Esther chooses faith over fear in a dire circumstance and takes the next step, which comes with considerable risk. The results, Queen Esther, saves the whole Jewish nation. Read this exciting story for yourself; it is dripping with drama. But here is what we need to understand. God is always at work. He orchestrated the circumstances and prepared Esther in advance, for His good and ours.
God has great purposes and plans for us. He is working right now in our lives behind the scenes, and our role is to trust and obey. Sounds easy, but we all know it’s not especially when the circumstances can look overwhelming and hopeless.
God has given us this story and many others to show us how great is His faithfulness. So how can you and I take the steps of faith like Esther? Well first, notice the obvious. Esther didn’t take matters in her own hands (guilty), she didn’t stop trusting God (guilty), you know Esther had to be fearful as she could not only face punishment but death because of her actions, yet she didn’t let fear rule her (guilty).
God honors our faith and increases our faith as we draw closer to Him (James 4:8). But taking ownership of what we have been given, redemption and eternal life, we are defended by God, vindicated by God, and can have the favor God promises. Let’s be intentional to spend dedicated time with Him and learn to walk in God-confidence. Maybe your next step of faith is to save your life, your marriage, or the next generation.