“Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, ‘Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 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?'” Esther 4:13-15
Devotional Thought For The Day
Esther’s position as queen provided her with opportunity to influence very important and significant affairs. It also placed her in danger, within the pool of politics and power struggles. It was perhaps an enviable position in regard to certain things, but quite unenviable in regard to other things. Most “offices” and positions are quite similar, regardless of how great the responsibility and power or how lowly and seemingly insignificant. The wisdom of Mordecai applies to all people in the places, positions, and offices that God has put them – we are to consider our place as an opportunity to serve God, to truly serve people in accord with His good and gracious will, that His purposes and His kingdom might advance.
We may think of our role at work as being rather insignificant – we may simply be worker bees rather than CEO’s and bigshots. Regardless, we have a place and at least some opportunity in that position to serve God by truly serving others in accord with His will and desires. We may think of our role as parents as being rather insignificant, but we will be influencing our children [whose influence will continue], their friends, other parents, the institutions our children will be part of – their schools, and later on our grandchildren – by what we teach our children. We may think of our friends as insignificant, and our influence upon them as being minimal – but there is some opportunity to serve God’s will and His purposes in every relationship we have. As a “neighbor” we can exert some influence on other people living in our area – just by how we keep our property, or with our friendliness and courtesy and helpfulness to others. Who knows just what purposes God will allow us to fulfill by putting us in the place we are and providing us with the opportunities we have for doing good?
Often we wish we had more influence, and speculate as to what we would do if we had greater power and prerogative. Sometimes we even interject ourselves in the affairs of others – taking privileges that are not ours. Much of this is distracting and unproductive, taking our attention away from the responsibilities we do have so that we fail to be the best that we can be where God has placed us, and we fail the people God wills for us to bless and serve. Often we allow the privileges of our position to predominate our thinking – we enjoy the perks rather than focusing on the responsibilities and serving. Mordecai’s advice is pertinent to all of us – to consider God’s will in placing us wherever we may be, His will that we do all that we can to serve the best interests and needs of others in accord with His will to provide the greatest blessings to mankind – through us.
Offices within the church serve the same purpose – whether administrative, serving others, teaching the Word, or caring for the property. Each office has important tasks by which others are served in accord with God’s will, that He might provide His greatest blessings to people. This is the high purpose of human life, and of the offices and responsibilities that God blesses us with, and each moment has opportunities to serve others, to serve God’s purposes, and to greatly please Him – in the very office and station of life in which He has placed us. It is rather remarkable and miraculous – how richly God blesses people each and every day by orchestrating the various offices, tasks, and responsibilities each person has to serve others. How much good is done every day through this system? Far more than the evil that occurs each day in the world! So let each of us consider our lives as God’s Word bids us – that we not fail in the critical moments, and that we find joy in the truly important tasks that God has given each of us!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, most of us would balk at being itinerant preachers traveling around in a dusty, sparsely populated country, being argued with, criticized, and rejected by many, destined for a short career and then martyrdom. But surely no more blessed work has been done than what You have accomplished for us as the Lamb of God! Help us to find joy in the offices You have placed us in, the services that You bid us to lovingly engage in for the good of others, no matter how lowly they may seem. Enable us to see the huge important influence we are privileged to exert even in little things, and to find great joy in serving Your will each day. Amen.