What Time Is It?

by Scott McGhee

I recently read a story about a woman named Esther. Esther was so beautiful that she was more or less entered into a beauty contest, but instead of the prize being a sash, tiara, and a bouquet of flowers, when she won, Esther became the queen. Now shortly after Esther became queen, one of her husband’s (the king’s) advisors began plotting against the Jewish people. Esther was Jewish and her cousin, Mordecai (pronounced More-deck-eye), presented her with quite the challenge. Fearing for the livelihood of his people, Mordecai says to Esther “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14 NASB emphasis added). As the story progresses, Esther, because of her status as queen, steps up and steps out in order to save her people from her husband’s evil advisor. As it turned out, Esther had in fact “attained royalty for such a time as this.”

We are all designed and created uniquely by God. Paul, in his letter to the Church in Ephesus tells us that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph 2:10 NASB). To me, it sounds like Paul is telling us that God has uniquely positioned us for good works. That just maybe God built us specifically and uniquely to have certain gifts and passions that He desires us to use for His glory, and to even take it one step further, God has already arranged these things for us to find and walk in. The fact of the matter is that we only have so long to live here. Our days are numbered, and yet I often find myself trying to ignore and slip past the fact that God has uniquely positioned me here.

I cannot help but wonder how my life would be different if I were to live “for such a time as this.” No, I am not royalty, but when compared to the majority of the world, I live like it. No, my family is not being oppressed or threatened by evil, but if I look around me, I can see people who are dead or dying and have no idea. I have been told time and again that we have all been uniquely created by a God who loves me, but am I actually using my inherent uniqueness to serve God and further His kingdom? Where is that sphere of influence that God has given me? Who knows whether I have not been placed in San Diego, as a seminary student, with a degree in History, and unemployed for such a time as this?

The truth is that God has made each and every one of us specifically. We each have a role to play in His plan, and who knows whether we have __________, or have been made __________, or can __________, for such a time as this? We are all able to fill in those blanks with something. We have all been uniquely positioned for such a time is this. The question that needs to be asked now: What time is it for me?