“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 royal position for such a time as this?”  Esther 4:14

For such a time as this. We are living in a crazy time.   A time when there are so many injustices and false voices infiltrating this beautiful world God created.  Relief and deliverance may seem like an overwhelmingly impossible thing to attain for those who are suffering or on the front lines trying to make a difference.  This evil was not part of God’s plan.  He created an ideal paradise for us, but sin crashed this reality into a million dangerous pieces.   Rather than asking “why?” or “how could this happen?”, I think God wants us to say “what can I do through your strength to help change the course of this devastation, dehumanization, and destruction?”.  How can we be the hope and change that we wish to see in this world?

I’m reading in the book of Esther right now. Esther did this.  She chose to heed her wise uncle Mordecai’s advise and NOT be silent.  She chose to use her power and royalty to influence others for the  good.  There was a plan schemed up by someone in King Xerxes court—a pompous and paranoid man named Haman.  He wanted to destroy the Jews.  But, Esther and Mordecai were Jewish and did not want to perish along with their people.  So, Esther was incredibly brave and took a stand.  She made the king aware of Haman’s plan in order to save all of the Jews, and consequently, this led to Haman’s death.

This story is filled with adventure, a plot twist, and compelling characters. Esther is one of my favorite people to read about in the bible because she  used her voice to make a difference.  She spoke up when it would have been so much easier to remain silent.  She chose to put on her royal robe and go scared to approach her king.  She chose to take action rather than just to question why.  She was a heroine affecting the harrowing highlight on the timeline of history.

How are we affecting history?   Are there areas of our lives where we can raise our voices and move into action to help the plight of others in need of rescuing, rest, and reassurance that there is a God who loves them?  Like Esther, can we choose to use our position & status in “such a time as this” to share light and truth in dark places.

There are so many wonderful organizations designed for this very purpose—to “be the change” and to make a positive impact in areas of our world that are desperate for change. How can we get involved?  My hope is to share some of these organizations and “difference makers”  with you.  If you know of a company or person who you’d like to feature, please share them with me.

Let’s be brave on the narrows, my friends .