Saddling Up Anyway

• Printable Version - Share on Facebook - Posted by Dion Todd May 19, 2016 - Filed in Devotional - 10,556 views
  They told Esther's words to Mordecai. Then Mordecai asked them to return this answer to Esther: 'Don't think to yourself that you will escape in the king's house any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent now, then relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Who knows if you haven't come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' Esther 4:12 WEB
  
  John Wayne once said that 'Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.' A young woman named Esther was once faced with a decision like that and it could have led to her execution. A law was passed in the land to exterminate all the Jews that were living in Persia.
  
  Esther, who was Jew, had hidden her family's identity and was safely living in the royal palace when her uncle Mordecai sent her word to go and speak with the king. He wanted her to try and obtain mercy for her people, but for Esther to go into the king's chamber without being summoned was an automatic death sentence, unless the king chose to pardon her by extending a golden scepter.
  
  When she hesitated to take the message to the king, her uncle Mordecai told her that if she did not go, the Lord would send someone else, but that she would miss out. Esther was just a young girl and very scared, but she pulled herself together and decided 'If I perish, I perish.' After fasting and praying for three days and nights, she went in to meet the king and ended up saving her people. There is a Jewish holiday called 'Purim' that commemorates the event.
  
  It is easy to be strong when there is nothing to be afraid of, but faith is tested in the furnace like refined gold. Do not cower back from whatever you have to face today, for you are here for a purpose, for such a time as this. If God is for you, who can stand against you? If you withdraw, God will send someone else, but you will miss out on what He has in store for you. Stand strong, know that God is with you, and that you are well able to face whatever comes your way.
  
  Prayer: Father, I thank You for bringing me to Your kingdom for such a time as this. It is no accident that I am living here today and I know that You have a plan and a purpose for me. Fulfill Your will in my life, guide my steps, and draw me into a deeper relationship with You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.