“If I perish, let me perish… I’m going to see the King!”

Esther 4:13-17 (NIV)

13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

This is instructive for us for we too have been placed in God given situations for a purpose.

We all get a choice to rise up to the situation in faith or sit back in fear and remain silent. Will we obey the voice of God and speak and act for His glory or remain mute and motionless hoping that no one will notice? If God is calling you to something and you remain silent, God will find another way, but you will miss out on how God wanted to use you for His purpose and lose the reward that would have been yours. Who knows, that could have been your time? You could have been positioned by God for that very purpose for such a time as this! “Stay in position!”

What is required? – “If I perish, I perish”

Esther 4:15-17 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

Finally Esther begins to see the depth of the problem and the need to follow Mordecai’s instructions no matter what the cost, and it could potentially cost her. We shouldn’t underestimate the step that Esther took here, and so it isn’t surprising that all the Jews in Susa are asked to fast for three days concerning Esther’s next move. At the end of that time, Esther will do something that was not lawful to do (even for the Queen!) – She will go before the King unannounced. If all goes well, he will extend the golden sceptre to her and she will find favour in his sight. If it did not turn out the way she expected, she will die. It is a huge step of faith on her part! “If I perish, I perish” are the words on her lips as she takes each step of the journey.

What does all this mean for us? Well, Jesus said that “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Your ‘cross’, that Jesus asked you to take up, is the place in your life where the will of God and your will, shall cross. That is, where the two wills are in opposition to each other! This was how it was for Esther as her will initially was opposed to the instruction of Mordecai. That is how it is often for us. So what is required? As shown by Esther, we too must deny our will and obey God’s call. Has God been asking something of you lately? Have you obeyed? Can you learn from Esther in this regard who initially dug her feet in but died to her own will so that the plans and purpose of God could be activated through her? I think we all can.