Seeking to Face the Perils of Life as an Opportunity to Share the Love of Jesus

On Wednesday morning, October 9, the assigned readings from my devotional bible were from Esther 3 and 4. In these verses, the Persian king, Ahasuerus, is led by his ‘prime minister,’ Haman, to issue a terrifyingly dark edict of death. Haman was proudly arrogant, wanting others to bow down to him because of his position. However, for some reason not mentioned in the book of Esther, Mordecai the Jew refused to bow to Haman. Of course, Jewish people knew the command of God, "You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) Mordecai refused an act of seeming worship toward this ruler, refused an act of seeming worship toward someone other than the Lord. Early Christians faced similar persecution under the Roman Empire.

However, Mordecai’s attempt at righteous living infuriated Haman. Haman convinced the king to issue the ‘edict of death,’ a command to kill all the Jewish people in the Persian kingdom on the twelfth day of the twelfth month. Persia stretched from India to Ethiopia. (Esther 1:1)

Therefore, Mordecai went to Queen Esther for help with this mortal threat. Esther had been chosen queen in what is sometimes describes as a ‘royal beauty contest.’ However, unknown to Haman, Mordecai had also served as Esther’s adoptive father. Haman did not realize that in his edict of death he had even targeted the Queen of Persia!

Mordecai’s request for help caused a problem for Queen Esther, though. Entering the king’s presence without being called was an offense punishable by death. So, should Esther put her life on the line to possibly save her people, the Jews? (Does that sound to you like what Jesus Himself did for us?)

Mordecai’s response to Esther’s concern was a straight-forward dose of reality. “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14) In other words Mordecai suggests to Esther that perhaps this danger was an opportunity to serve. Perhaps the Lord created Esther to face this peril in order to help her people. In other words Mordecai is saying, “Don’t worry about the danger. Just do what you can to help others, and trust the Lord to act.”

For the second week in a row, I am writing my devotion in the shadow of a hurricane. Hurricane Milton is barreling down on Florida bringing wind and rains, spawning floods and tornados. We will not be directly hit in Gainesville, but we will still feel the effects of the storm. Those south of us will be hit with the brunt of a major destructive hurricane.

What can we do in the face of this peril? No matter how much we worry, we won’t change the path of the storm. Nevertheless, there are some things we can do. As a child of God I can act responsibly, so that I don’t unnecessarily put myself in harms way. After all, if someone is helping me, I will have trouble helping others.

We can pray, and we have been praying, not only for those in the path of Milton, but also for the hundreds of thousands still suffering the devastations of Helene.

But Mordecai’s words in Esther, God’s word in Scripture, may also apply to us. “. . . who knows whether you have not come . . . for such a time as this?" In these times of approaching destruction there will be people who need help. We can donate to relief efforts. We can help our neighbors. We can volunteer our time and talents. Many I know in Gainesville are housing people who have evacuated from the south west of Florida. Church members are calling others to check on their welfare. My brother-in-law is helping in relief efforts in Valdosta, Georgia. And . . . the people of First Lutheran are praying. We are petitioning the grace and love of our loving Lord for all those in the path of this current storm, and for those recovering from the last one. In other words, we don’t know what the storm will bring. But, we know that we can help.

Paul taught that God can and does accomplish good in all situations. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) This promise of God does not say that all things ARE good. But, it does say that God WORKS good in all things. After all, even in the death of God’s Son, even in the death of the one who is God Himself, our Lord worked the forgiveness and salvation of a sinful world. If God worked good even in the death of Jesus, He can and does work good even in the tragedies of life. He is LORD!

In addition, Jesus taught the royal law of God found in Leviticus 19, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31) In times of trouble we have the opportunity to live as children of God. We have the opportunity to love our neighbors, to make a difference. “. . . who knows whether you have not come . . . for such a time as this?"

When you face times of peril, disaster, and destruction, how will you live as a child of God and help those in need?