More Than A Mundane Existence

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise
for the Jews from elsewhere, but you and your father’s house will perish.
And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom
for such a time as this and for this very occasion?”

– Esther 4:14 (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)

God always asks us to elevate our perspective by diving full-heartedly into this relationship with Jesus Christ, the basis and the crux of our faith. As we get to better know His voice, heart, and mind, and as we accept His free gift of the Holy Spirit, a heart made of flesh, and the mind of Christ, we can move in alignment with God’s Spirit and do His perfect will on Earth.

Looking at the book of Esther in the Bible, we see a narrative of redemption of a woman who was overlooked and abandoned early on in her life. Esther, a Jewish woman originally named Hadassah, was living in the Persian Kingdom of that time, where her people, the Jews, were living as an exiled minority group in a godless nation. Her status as an orphan, a woman, and a Jew during that time period meant that the markers of her identity made her have the status of being an undesirable woman. From a young age, she was forced to hide her origin due to the hatred and bias she faced at the hands of other people who did not see her humanity but rather saw her difference as a reason to disdain her. The part of herself she hid helped her survive living in this society that looked down on her.

While Esther could have battled with the thought process of “I didn’t choose to be born into this, why is this happening to me?” God’s faithfulness to her and her people was palpable throughout the book of Esther, despite God never being mentioned directly. The story unfolded with the underlying truth that God ordained Esther to be there in the palace at such a time as this because she was meant to be the courageous leader led by faith in God’s character.

Esther’s journey from exile to royalty reflects the journey we take from being orphaned outside of Jesus to becoming a daughter/son of the King and being dressed in His righteousness. Outside of God, we are without covering, so we cover our nakedness, our vulnerabilities with a garment of shame, heaviness, biterness, and we hold onto the shield of pride, hardening our hearts to make protective walls around the core of what we believe is left of us, believing we are utterly protected from any harm, having fallen under the delusion of these demonic mantles and garments.

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,
you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy,
kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Make allowance for each other’s faults,
and forgive anyone who offends you.
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 
Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.
For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.
And always be thankful.”

– Colossians 3:12-15 (New Living Translation)

One of my favorite sayings is, “God is no respector of persons,” meaning God does not elevate someone or give them favor because of the position they hold on Earth, but rather He chooses who He chooses according to the plans He wants to unfold according to His perfect will. God has us on a mission to save souls, so when God calls you, it isn’t because you are better than the next person, but rather you made yourself available to answer the call, becoming the chosen. Many are called, but few are chosen because not many step into the identity of being a chosen one of God (which sounds similar to the language the enemy tries to use to build up more pride in people and give them an anti-christ complex unlike God who transofrms us to become more like Him, being co-heirs while He remains on the throne of our hearts), because stepping into the God-given identity means surrendering things you once found comfort in. Many people prefer the darkness because it’s comfortable not being held accountable in the way light holds us accountable for who we are becoming.

God calls us because we have been purposed to do His will in the specific calling He has created and destined every one of us to be part of bringing Heaven to Earth. When we see God’s powerful plan in action through the eyes of faith, seeing how necessary each individual in the body of Christ is needed for the work that the Lord is doing on Earth, we drop comparison and competition to embrace something better: God’s grace.