Introduction
There are moments in life when the Lord puts you in front of a choice. This is not some small, comfortable decision. It is something that is bigger than you, that touches your time, your money, your health, sometimes even your safety. And yet, deep in your heart, you know it is him asking you to move.
That is exactly what happens to Esther in chapter 4 of her book. Her people are threatened with extinction. Mordecai, her adoptive cousin, sends her an impossible message: go speak to the king, plead for your people. She knows very well that entering the inner court without being summoned means risking the death penalty. She hesitates, she is afraid. And Mordecai's answer is firm: "Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
This message is for you too. Today, the Lord is issuing you a challenge. He does not force you. He offers to walk with you, to answer what he is asking of you, and to see his power turn around situations that look hopeless to you.
The story behind the sermon
1. The setting: a young woman in an unlikely position
The book of Esther takes place during the exile. The Jews had been deported to Babylon, and then Babylon fell under the rule of Persia. Many Jews were still living in that territory when King Ahasuerus reigned.
Esther is a young Jewish orphan girl. Her parents died when she was small. It was her older cousin Mordecai who raised her like an adoptive father. Humanly speaking, she has nothing to set her apart: no fortune, no connections, a simple, modest life.
One day, the king looks for a new queen after removing Vashti for her disobedience. Mordecai, who serves at the court, presents Esther. The officials in charge are pleased with her, the preparations last more than six months, and the king ends up choosing her. This young Jewish orphan becomes queen of the greatest empire of her time.
Humanly speaking, it is a Cinderella story. But that is not where the meaning of her life plays out. Like Joseph, who becomes prime minister of Egypt after being sold into slavery, it is not the position itself that matters. What matters is that God places his children where he needs them, to carry out his plan. The real story begins after you have arrived at the position.
2. The threat: Haman and his ancestral hatred
A man is promoted to prime minister: Haman the Agagite. This is not a neutral detail. The Agagites descend from Amalek, who descends from Esau. On a spiritual level, there is an ancient hostility between the descendants of Jacob (the Jews) and the descendants of Esau. Haman does not like the Jews.
When a decree requires everyone to bow before him, Mordecai refuses. This sets off Haman's rage, and he does not settle for wanting Mordecai's death: he obtains the king's permission to wipe out the entire Jewish people. The decree is issued throughout the empire.
Mordecai's reaction is that of a broken man: he tears his clothes, covers himself with sackcloth and ashes, and weeps. Throughout the provinces, the Jews fast, weep, and mourn. The despair is total.
3. The chain of messages: Esther between fear and responsibility
Esther, in the palace, grows anxious about what is happening outside. She sends her servant Hathach to Mordecai. He explains everything to her and even gives her a copy of the decree. The message is direct: go yourself to the king and beg him for your people.
Esther is torn. She knows the law: entering without being summoned means risking the death penalty, man or woman, even for a queen. Only the king can grant life by holding out his golden scepter. And it has been over a month since he last called for her. She has Hathach relay this to Mordecai.
Mordecai answers her with a firmness that shakes her: "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?"
4. The chain of excuses: what the Lord asks of us too
We love Jesus, we believe in him, we try to live according to his Word. But sometimes, when he asks something of us, we look for reasons to say no. "Lord, I don't have the time, you can see I'm swamped." "Lord, I don't have the money, this would really put me in a tight spot financially." "Lord, I don't have the health for this, I already carry enough as it is." The excuses are many, and often they are even true, just as Esther's fear was true.
The Lord does not usually ask you for this kind of thing when everything is going well, when everything is in place and you are available. It is almost always in a complicated situation that he challenges you. He is saying to you, in a sense, "Do you love me anyway?"
He has given you free will. He will not force you. And if you have to say no, he can always work through someone else. But it is not because he lacks workers that he asks you. It is because he wants to bless you. He wants to work with you, not only for you.
5. Seeing with the eyes of the spirit, not the eyes of the flesh
When we look at our lives with purely human eyes, the problems never stop. One difficulty gets resolved, another arrives, and then another. It is an exhausting life.
But when you look with the eyes of the spirit, through the Word, walking with the Lord, the very same life takes on a different shape. Obstacles shift, deliverance arrives, the glory of the Lord shows up in what looked blocked to you.
The first step is small. One thing, said yes to once. Then a second. Every time you see the Lord act with you, your faith grows stronger. You come to understand, little by little, that with him, you can get through any situation.
6. Esther's fast: I can do nothing, but you can do everything
Esther makes her decision. She asks that all the Jews of Susa be gathered and fast for her, three days and three nights, without eating or drinking. She and her maidens will do the same. Then she will go to the king, in violation of the law, saying, "If I perish, I perish."
Fasting means acknowledging before God that you can no longer do anything by yourself. It is your flesh dying down to make room for your dependence. "Lord, I can do nothing. Only you can. Help me." It is the deep confession of the heart rising up before him.
After this time of fasting, Esther gets ready. She puts her beauty, that gift the Lord gave her, in service of the approach. For you it might be a skill, a sharp mind, physical strength, a know-how. Everyone has received something. Prepare what you have, offer it, and move forward.
7. The great reversal
What follows is a complete reversal. The trap Haman had set falls back on him. Haman and his sons are put to death. Thanks to Esther's intervention, the king allows the Jews to defend themselves. In Susa, those who attack them fall, 500 men on the first day, 300 on the second. Across the whole empire, 75,000 enemies of the Jews are defeated. Mordecai is raised to Haman's former position as prime minister. The Jewish people find peace again.
All of this began with a "yes" from Esther. A risky, costly "yes," prepared in fasting, offered with what she had in her hands.
8. For you today: a spiritual battle
Today, this battle is a spiritual one. Around you, there are souls the enemy is keeping far from Jesus: your family, your loved ones, your coworkers, the people you cross paths with. The Lord wants to reach them through you.
He is not waiting for you to be powerful. He is waiting for you to say yes. When you walk with him, he gives you what you need for the mission: health if that is needed, money if that is needed, wisdom, encounters, people sent alongside you. "Seek first the kingdom and the righteousness of God, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).
Do not look at the difficulty. Look at the Lord. Answer his challenge. And get ready to see reversals in your life and around you.
Key takeaways
- It is not your position that defines your Christian life, it is your availability to God in the position where he has placed you.
- The Lord almost never challenges you when everything is going well: it is in the difficulty that he asks you to say yes.
- Your excuses may be true. But they are not the final word. Look higher than they can reach.
- Fasting means setting down your own strength so you rely only on his.
- A risky "yes," prepared in prayer, opens the door to a reversal you cannot produce on your own.
Personal application
- Is there something right now that you sense coming from the Lord, and to which you keep raising excuses? Which ones?
- How are you looking at your situation right now: with the eyes of the flesh, or with the eyes of the spirit?
- What specific "gift" has the Lord entrusted to you (a talent, time, resources, a relationship, a skill) that you could offer him for one concrete step this week?
- Is there an area where you need to fast, not to punish yourself, but to acknowledge, "Lord, I can't anymore, you act"?
- Who around you might you be placed near "for such a time as this"? What can you start doing for that person today?
Verses cited
- Esther 4:6-17 · the main text of the sermon
- Esther 3 · Haman's plot against the Jews
- Esther 9 · the reversal and the deliverance
- Matthew 6:33 · "Seek first the kingdom of God"
FAQ
What does "answering the Lord's challenge" actually mean?
It means recognizing, in a specific situation, that God is asking you to act (to help someone, to talk about Jesus, to give, to change a habit) and telling him yes even when it is not comfortable. It is not some big, dramatic heroism; it is an obedient step, with his Word as your compass and his presence as your strength.
Do I need to fast for every important decision?
Fasting is not an automatic formula. It is a means the Bible offers for acknowledging your weakness before God and focusing your prayer. When a decision feels heavy, or you sense you cannot carry it on your own, fasting according to what your health allows can be a valuable way to expose yourself to him and let his will take hold in your heart.
And if I say no to the Lord's challenge?
God does not force you. He has given you freedom. If he has decided something, he will carry out his plan through someone else. But you will miss the blessing he had prepared for you through that obedience. The sermon says it plainly: the Lord does not ask you because he lacks workers, he asks you because he wants to bless you by working with you.
to take notes and ask questions.