Esther is one of my favorite books in the Bible. We named our daughter Esther so around our house, we’re always talking about her namesake and teaching principles from this story. 

Most of us know this story but in review, I’ll paraphrase it…

Esther or Hadassah (which is her Hebrew name) is a young, Jewish woman – an orphan, raised by her cousin Mordecai. She’s living in Persia when Xerxes (the king of Persia) excommunicates his queen, wants a new queen, and makes an edict that all young women in the land be brought into the palace to be a part of this mandatory “beauty contest”. Out of all the women brought before him, Xerxes likes Esther the best and appoints her queen of all of Persia. 

Torn from her home and thrust into a completely different reality – Esther gives her “yes”.

One thing though, she does not reveal to anyone that she is a Jew. 

One of Xerxes’ nobleman, Haman does not like the Jews, and he especially does not like Esther’s cousin Mordecai. He plots to destroy the Jews by convincing Xerxes they’re a threat. Xerxes gives Haman permission to “do with the people as he pleases” and an edict is distributed throughout the land that on a particular day all Jews (young and old, women and children) are to be annihilated. 

Mordecai knows that even Esther would be in danger because of this edict. He asks Esther to go before Xerxes to beg for mercy and plead for her people.

Esther 4:10 - 15

10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” 12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 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.”

“And if I perish, I perish…”  Even then, Esther gives her “yes”.

This story brings questions to my heart and mind. Questions like:

- What does your “yes” represent today?

- Does your “yes” feel like obeying an edict, throwing you into a foreign or unfamiliar place? 

- Does your “yes” look like discomfort, danger or even death? (maybe not physical death, but death to yourself, your plans, or your dreams perhaps?)

“If I perish, I perish…”

My Story: We are right at our year mark of being in Northwest Iowa. And I’ve been at Pizza Ranch now for about six months. Our “yes” to move from Texas and my “yes” to work here has brought quite a bit of discomfort. We uprooted our kids from something familiar to something totally new. We took a loss on the sale of our home in Texas. We lost our community from before and are working to build community here. Having primarily been in vocational ministry and never worked at a restaurant before – I’ve had to learn a completely different language. Six months ago, I had no idea what a Same Store Sales Percentage Increase or Transaction Count even was.  

So, a few weeks ago, I’m really feeling the weight of all this and sitting in a Foundations graduation. Jason said something like, “it may be uncomfortable to go back to your store after being at Foundations, but what if it’s not about you – what if your store needs what you bring?” I felt convicted and encouraged all at the same time. I heard the Holy Spirit’s gentle whisper, “What if it’s not about you? – what if they need what you bring? What if they need your “yes”?” Now, I’m not anything special – but my story and my walk with the Lord are unique. As I’ve given my “yes” to the Lord, I have continually been blown away by how He chooses to use me and how incredibly He works.

Back to Esther. Later, we discover that she DOES find favor with Xerxes. Her life is spared and because of her “yes”, the other Jews are spared as well.

So, new questions:

• What if your “yes” could change the heart of a king and save a nation?
• What if your “yes” could bring encouragement to someone in your world who’s lost hope?
• What if your “yes” is for such a time as this?

My challenge for today: Offering our “yes” unto the Lord doesn’t promise ease – it usually requires something of us, remembering to not mistake comfort for peace. 

An encouragement to rest in: We can trust the nature and character of God. He is faithful and He is for us! 

I’ll end with words from the very wise Mr. Beaver in C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” - talking about Aslan the lion (who is said to allegorically represent Christ), 

"Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good.”