Rainey Taylor is a familiar face at the Center. She is our Sales Manager and assists many groups to secure their reservations and make arrangements for the group’s meeting room, housekeeping and dining needs. Rainey brings today’s reflection during this Easter season.
“For Such a Time as This”
This morning I heard a devotion based on one of my favorite scriptures from the Old Testament. It is a scripture from the book of Esther. The scripture I am referring to is in Chapter 4:14 and it ends with “…and who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this”.
The story of Esther is a gift of hope for all of us. An orphan peasant Jewish girl raised by her Uncle Mordecai in a time when the Jewish nation was in a precarious place on the brink of destruction. Esther had found favor with the king because of her beauty and he took her as his wife and Queen.
When news reached her Uncle Mordecai that all Jews were to be destroyed, he appealed to Esther to approach the King and intercede for her people. The King was unaware that Esther was a Jew and no one approached the King unless they were summoned. I can’t imagine how torn and frightened Esther must have been. Anyone who approached the King was in danger of being put to death.
Esther loved her people, so she decided that she would do what her Uncle requested but not until the Jewish nation prayed and fasted for three days. Esther knew that the supernatural power of her God was needed at this time.
The end of the story is that of redemption and all her people were saved.
So, here we sit isolated, scared, overwhelmed and perhaps lonely, just as Esther surely must have felt. But we must cling to the hope that is afforded to us as believers. Scripture calls us a “holy nation” and a “royal priesthood”. We can summon the very power of heaven through the sacrifice of our Savior.
We need to hold our heads up and cry out to God who is our Deliverer.
Easter is our time of the greatest celebration as Christians. The question then is, what do we do with this “new normal” on such a special occasion? We now more than ever, we should not lose sight of the empty tomb. We must trust and believe with all our hearts that the same power that resurrected our Savior is alive and well. We must trust and believe that we are God’s holy anointed, empowered ones because of the empty tomb.
In this time of chaos with our “new normal”, cry out to the God who has made us His beloved for “such a time as this”.
2 replies on “For Such a Time as This”
Thank you, Rainey, for this message of hope. I look forward to seeing at the retreat center, in God’s time.
Be well,
Linda
“Such a time as this” – thank you for sharing that particular quotation from the Old Testament. I will add it to my list of mantras and prayers – as this is indeed a time of Faith and Hope and Trust.