By: Nicole Miners
How do we trust God when our child’s medical crisis and related care threatens the position, prestige, or pay we’ve spent so many previous years accomplishing?
In Esther chapter 4- just after the king’s right-hand-man, Haman, is given the authority to persecute the Jewish people and plunder their possessions- Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, contacts her about pleading before the king for the lives of her people. Esther had been appointed to the role of queen earlier and now had access to the king in a way that no other Jewish person at the time did. Not only was Esther risking her position within the kingdom by admitting her Jewish heritage, but she could even be put to death for approaching the king without invitation and taking a stand for her people.
You might be wondering, how can you trust God when your child’s medical crisis and care are threatening the position, prestige, or pay you’ve spent so many previous years accomplishing? How will you ever make it back to this spot professionally if you’re forced to step away? How will your child’s needs be met without your competitive pay? Does being present for your child’s needs now mean never being able to pursue personal goals again? And what if your goals were good… godly even?
In Esther 4:11, we witness these same kinds of hesitations and fears in Queen Esther. She sends word to Mordecai, “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.”
It wasn’t that Esther didn’t care about the wellbeing of the Jewish people; she was worried about her own life, position, and power to impact the lives of the Jewish people long term. She may have been scared to die, but perhaps she was also hesitant to do what she knew her people most needed at this moment because she was still weighing how much she’d be able to give of herself in the future, if she did.
Mordecai caused Esther to reexamine her motives by encouraging her that this could be the reason God had given her such a position of influence in the first place. This response, in verse 14, is commonly quoted among Christians: “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?”
Maybe, like Esther, you are grappling with what to do about your position of influence or authority in the face of your family’s vulnerabilities.
Maybe you’re challenged by its inflexibility in schedule and yet holding onto its exceptional benefit package.
Maybe you’re no longer passionate about what you’re doing, but it pays the growing pile of medical bills.
Maybe you are having to pry your fingers off the status even though being present with your child through this crisis is your biggest priority and deepest prayer.
Or maybe you just weren’t prepared to experience such a lack of control and making a choice is harder than you ever experienced… the choice between walking this unexpected season out well and having all you’ve ever worked for.
As you continue to read along with our Praying Through Ministries’ Bible reading plan, we pray the remaining chapters of Esther will speak to you in your current circumstances. What Esther thought might threaten her future turned out to be for the freedom and future of her people. She made a choice to turn from her own self-interests and stand on behalf of her Jewish family (even when she was scared) and, because of it, they did not suffer.
But Esther also received something personal for her bold stance. She was rewarded a position of co-leadership with the king… given access to his signet ring to make declarations in his name. Esther was elevated- even beyond her previous position- to a new level of authority.
It’s just the way the Lord hopes to award us greater influence as we come to understand His heart for intercession. Matthew 20:28 confirms, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Heavenly Father, You know how hard I’ve worked to reach this stage. You’ve seen the years of sacrifice. You know the way the position, power, or pay now benefits my family. You also know how it hinders us here in this season. Still, I will trust Your purposes and Your provision. If this position is not for me in this season of life, please speak to me about it. If a conversation needs to be had so you can move the hearts of leadership with mercy and compassion to create better flexibility for families like ours, make me bold for it. Whatever You’re asking of me, help me to remember I was appointed to this position by You and I have an opportunity now to either steward it or surrender it for You. Move my heart for the kind of intercession that leads to both freedom and authority. Amen.
Dig Deeper into How to Navigate What is Ahead with Real Hope
Reflection Questions:
How does Esther come into her position of power in the first place? How does her response to Mordecai in 4:15 prove that she understands it is God who has appointed her?
As you are reminded that positions of influence or authority are appointed by the Lord, how does this ease your mind in trusting His provision through it? In releasing your expectations for it?
Do you typically trust God with the positions, resources, and people in your life? Why or why not?
Put Your Faith Into Action:
The story of Esther demonstrates that we can be appointed to positions of influence and authority specifically for the saving of others. The purpose of our personal and professional lives is far greater than we can see through the lens of our one-year, five-year, or ten-year plans.
This week, we challenge you to write out the expectations you once held for your position, prestige, or pay on index cards. When you finish, as an act of surrender to God’s sovereignty and an acknowledgement of His goodness, turn each card over and write the name of a person you are uniquely equipped to serve through this position or season of your life. Post the names up in your home to pray over throughout the week.
Further Reading:
Genesis 50:15-20
Matthew 19:16-22
Verse to Meditate On or Memorize:
Esther 4:14
Nicole Miners is a volunteer at Praying Through Ministries. She is also a writer at Nicoleminers.com.
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