If you know the story in the book of Esther, of how a humble orphan girl rose to become one of the most powerful women in history, defeating the enemies of her people and saving them from total annihilation. Everyone knows that story of Esther. But did you miss another important aspect of the story? The role that her cousin Mordecai played as one of the reasons why Esther was able to accomplish that feat, which is key to something we can relate to and need today.
Mordecai did two important things for Esther.
When King Xerxes was looking for a new bride and ordered to gather the most beautiful of women across the country, it was Mordecai who suggested to Esther that she become one of those women, even though she was a Jewish girl. And she did.
Later on when Esther became Queen, and Mordecai was sitting at the palace gate, he overheard the King’s right hand man plotting to overthrow the Jewish people, therefore, it was Mordecai who alerted Queen Esther to the plot. And when she conveyed to him her concerns of possibly losing her own life if she intervened even as Queen, it was Mordecai who provoked the spirit in her and called her to her full purpose by speaking the following decree to her that would become one of the most infamous scriptures of the bible quoted to this day, he told her…
Esther 4:14 “…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?”
Many sermons have been preached, many songs have been sung, many merchandise have been printed, many a times people have quoted it, the whole Book of Esther was literally about this phrase spoken by Mordecai to Queen Esther; “For such a time as this”
Mordecai was the one who suggested to Esther to enter the beauty contest to become Queen. He saw in her what she did not see in herself, therefore he was able to point her in the direction of her destiny. Later when she became Queen and probably felt that she was already walking in her destiny by becoming Queen, it was Mordecai again who fanned the flames of her true destiny by showing her where she could best be of ultimate service to the Kingdom of God in her position as Queen. And she went on to accomplish just that, she risked her own life and saved her people from being wiped off the planet. So while Esther was the heroine in the story, Mordecai was her guide and her mentor.
I think we all need a Mordecai in our life, and maybe some of us have had such a person who was able to point us in the right direction and challenged us further to come into our divine purpose. Maybe if you spoke with someone who have successfully started their own Ministry or have acquired a successful position where they could be of positive influence to others, they may have their own Mordecai story to tell.
Sometimes even as Christians, many of us believe that we have fulfilled our destiny just by becoming saved. So we settle in that position, in a state of mediocrity. For Esther it was the same, she was able to save her own life as a Jewish girl from harm simply by becoming Queen. Her story could have ended there and it still would have been good. It could have read;
Jewish Orphan Girl becomes Queen to the Most Powerful Islamic King.
What’s wrong with that? That’s a great accomplishment, much like a sinner being saved from hell through salvation, it is enough. But it turned out that even as Queen, she was living in a state of mediocrity in the palace. She was destined for more. Much like Christians we are all destined for more than just being saved. As it was for Queen Esther, there are other lives that need to be saved through our position as Queen or Christian… or both! Esther moved from a mediocre woman to one of purpose by fulfilling her full destiny, and rewrote the headline of her story. Now it rightfully reads:
Jewish Orphan Queen to Most Powerful Islamic King Risks life and Exposes Conspiracy against Jews and Saved Entire Jewish Nation from Total Annihilation!
What does your headline read like? Is it like the first headline, only about what you saved your own self from? Are you sitting in a place of mediocrity when you could have been more? Are you only halfway in your destiny and purpose? Do you need an extra Mordecai nudge to push you further towards completing your divine purpose and save lives?
Then the Spirit of Esther Ministries through the Sorority of the Epsilon Omega Gamma aspires to be the Mordecai that points every woman to walk in the fullness of her purpose. I believe the book of Esther holds the keys of what our Christian life should be like. The buck doesn’t stop with you, you need to move on to affect the lives of others in your own way. It is what the Kingdom of God is about; saving yourself first, and then affecting others. It’s called the Great Commission. Jesus asks that we become disciples, and then make disciples of others to win souls.
Matthew 28:16-20 New International Version (NIV)
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”