“…If you don’t speak up now, we will somehow get help, but you and your family will be killed. It could be that you were made queen for a time like this!”[1]
A few articles ago, we looked at the topics ‘Destiny’ and ‘Following the Herd.’
In these two articles, we considered choice because if God has a destiny planned for us, are we free to accept or reject God’s plan?
With the herd mentality, the question is, who or what do we follow?
The answer to the first question is yes, and the second is to follow God’s instructions, but both questions offer an option.
Esther had a choice: not to risk her life or do what God had told her to do because doing so was in the best interests of her and God’s people.
In Revelation, John warns that the herd will suffer the beast’s fate. Those who do not accept the beast’s mark and do God’s will inherit God’s kingdom.
Queen Esther is a fine example of someone willing to put her life on the line in obedience to God’s plan. Her choice honoured God, saved her life, and the lives of the Jewish people.
No matter how dark circumstances appear in our lives at any time, doing God’s will always results in blessings!
This statement is painfully obvious to you and me, but why don’t we always do God’s will?
There are a gazillion reasons for this; we’ll look at a couple for space’s sake.
Let’s begin with a few scriptures:
“I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.”[2]
This is God’s immutable will. Not even God will change it. It is permanent because the entire universe functions systematically according to its tenets. It is a dashboard that controls the function of everything in the universe.
“The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: “See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.”[3]
God’s law for humankind in their relationship with each other. This law is binding and cannot offer options or changes.
The above two aspects of God’s will are literally ‘carved in stone’ and cannot be altered in any way. They are the foundation of the New Testament.
Jesus said:
“Don’t suppose I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning.”[4]
Giving the law ‘whole meaning’ amounts to introducing a new way of living according to God’s will for your life. This is the final aspect of God’s will – God’s will for you and me.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”[5]
God brings each soul from Adam and Eve until today and puts them on the earth at a specific hour, day, month, and year, not a second earlier or later.
You say, “I’m not a prophet.” Well, maybe not, but you will agree that before God formed you in the womb, God knew you before you were born, sanctified you, God ordained you…(for a specific purpose.) Jeremiah’s purpose was to be a prophet. Yours could be different.
Now you know you’ve had a light bulb moment, let’s answer your next question:
“How do I know my specific purpose?”
Chances are that you don’t know. God may speak to you audibly, telling you, like Jeremiah or Paul on the way to Damascus, what your purpose is, but I think it is fair to say that while it can happen, (I’m a firm believer in miracles,) one does not hear of that happening too often in this day and age.
What about this:
Start believing that, like Queen Esther, you are ‘born for a time like this.’ You were born to live in this day, in this moment now.
You ask, “But how can I do this?”
The scripture answers you:
“Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God – what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.”[6]
Prayer and action are two parts of the same thing: finding and expressing God’s will for your life. I gave my life to God when I was seven years old in 1949. I know this because the Wesleyan Sunday School gave me a Bible with that information inside the cover. I do not have the vaguest recollection of the event, but it shows me that God is faithful to our forgotten commitments.
My life and the lives of my family members were in a terrible predicament at that time. My Grandmother encouraged me to pray, “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, help this little child.”[7] Years later, I discovered this was a hymn, and the words differed slightly. But this is how I remembered them. In retrospect, it resulted in a huge miracle. My grandmother taught me the prayer. I prayed, believing God would heal our family (action). God did.
I have reached my word limit, so we’ll continue next month.
Love and Blessings
Peter-James.