For Such A Time As This: Live Brightly!

March 27, 2023 Tiffany

The name of our Bible study (For Such A Time As This) is found in this week’s reading of Esther, chapter 4. Let’s find out what else God wants to speak to you about…

1 When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went as far as the front of the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province where the king's command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Sackcloth and ashes were a sign of deep grief and lament, an outward representation of an inward disposition. This should give us pause to consider what we put on each day. Here are some highlights around what God says we should wear:
It's encouraging to know our Savior desires us to put on instead of being put off. No matter what emotion you feel: deep fear, resentment, frustration, impatience, and so forth – let us do what Mordecai did: tear off what you're emotionally and mentally wearing and put on what Christ desires. The "tearing off" takes time because just as we need to memorize what we should put on, we must partner with the Holy Spirit to confess and name what we should "take off" to allow the Lord to see our shame, heal our wounds, and cover us with His identity. Freedom is not often this instantaneous experience. It can be, but even if it's not immediate, that doesn't make it any less supernatural. Often, 1,000 small shifts in the situation are just as supernatural as the big "Wow, look what God did!"
So if you're like me, and you're still learning to respond instead of react through seemingly small, everyday circumstances, keep going! God is not impatiently waiting for you to get your act together. He is patiently strengthening you at this moment. God wants us to grow up and out of our old ways...but He also desires for us to fall in love with Him in the process instead of exhaustingly trying to prove our love to Him by "doing" the healing process ourselves.

4 So Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king's gate. 7 And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. 9 So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

Esther apparently had no knowledge of Haman's horrific plan. Mordecai explained and gave Esther a copy of the decree with insight into the financial motivation behind the plot. Can you imagine being Esther at that moment? She was a palace queen – in isolation and not among her people. When you're a leader and the last to hear about a terrible event – particularly concerning your own people – it is sickening. Until this moment, Esther probably wondered why her cousin Mordecai was making such a spectacle of himself.
One thing to note is Mordecai's resolve. His response to the decree was not to repent at the feet of Haman because he did not bow sooner; his response was of anguish for his people and the death approaching them. Therefore, even when death threatens our life, may our knees not bow to the gods of this world!

10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 11 "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days." 12 So they told Mordecai Esther's words.

Mordecai wanted Esther to plead to the king on the people's behalf. Esther quickly reminded Mordecai that their marriage was less than intimate. She responded (paraphrased), "We haven't talked or seen each other in a month." There is a great application here for those in a marital relationship. Times were different in Persia, but whether we're the bride or the groom in the relationship, we must always be intentional about creating a safe and trustworthy environment where the heart can be exposed and vulnerable feelings made known to each other. I highly recommend it if you've never heard of or visited the Focus on the Family Hope Restored marriage retreats before. Additionally, the book The DNA of Relationships for Couples is a foundational read for any marriage, whether you're going solid or ready to bail.

13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Mordecai said, "Wake up, sister! You are not excluded from this decree!" It is beautiful how God places reality-check people in our lives (sometimes I'm referred to as "The Dream Crusher" because I can be too strong of a reality check – I'm working on that!). Mordecai was the man who (lovingly) told Esther: THIS IS YOUR TIME! You were created for this moment. Don't be silent!
Ah, friends, God speaks the exact words to us each morning. _________ (fill in your name), today is your day. You were created for this day. Don't be silent; speak my truth! You were carefully and intimately knitted in the womb to bring the Light to others. Live it brightly.

15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"

17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.

Nothing like a good pep talk to spur you in motion (and freak you out). Esther knew that she alone could not persuade the king. She needed the fervent prayer of righteous people surrounding her as she walked into the king's court, and fasting was included.
The idea of fasting has been maimed and twisted by this world, but make no mistake: power is found when our flesh is denied what it craves, and we become wholly dependent on God. In Matthew 17:21 and Mark 9:29, Jesus tells His disciples that prayer and fasting are necessary to break bondages in certain situations. We also know Jesus fasted and prayed 40 days in the desert; Ezra declared a fast to seek the right way; Daniel fasted from the king's delicacies and later fasted and prayed for repentance for the Jewish people in Babylon. Regardless of the fasting situation – prayer was the accompaniment. God never pushes you toward legalism or establishes a rigorous set of rules of how and when to fast. However, it is wise to take a moment and search God's heart on this matter. Is there an area where you need bondage broken? To know His clarity? To deny yourself of the world? To repent? Consider the one-two-punch of prayer and fasting, then allow God to reveal to you how His strength is made perfect in your weakness. Amen.