God’s People at Work: Esther
Scripture Reading — Esther 4
Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?
Have you ever wondered why you are in a particular job at a particular time? You may have found yourself caught in the middle of a heated interoffice conflict. Or you may have been assigned to lead a department that is highly dysfunctional. Sometimes God places us in situations that seem beyond our capacity to handle.
It’s hard to imagine a more stressful position than Esther’s. She rose from obscurity into a position of power and prestige. Yet whatever glitz and glamor she may have enjoyed quickly turned to terror when she learned of a plot to kill her people. Esther faced a dilemma: should she risk her life, revealing her true identity in order to save her people? Or should she preserve her life while her people perished? Her cousin Mordecai suggested that God may have placed her in a position of authority especially to save her people.
Where you are working is no accident. God has placed you there for a purpose! Granted, your setting may not be as dramatic as Esther’s, but God’s purposes are no less significant. You might be in a position to speak the very words a client needs to hear today. You might mediate a conflict that has been brewing for weeks. You might be the one who helps an employee reach her full potential. The God who has chosen us in Christ for salvation continues to choose us to do his work!
Sovereign God, thank you for placing us where we are today. Reveal to us how we might be an instrument of your sovereign will. In Jesus, Amen.
About the author — Rob Toornstra
Rob Toornstra has served as pastor of Sunnyslope Christian Reformed Church in Salem, Oregon, since 2006. When not busy with pastoral duties, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Amy, and their three children.
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