Faced with circumstances beyond our control, we can be shaken. We can also take the opportunity to stand out as Christians. Perhaps we have been placed in our community precisely for a time like today!
If we remain attentive to the voice of God, we cannot help but think about our life and the difference it can make in this world. In ordinary times, we find ourselves absorbed in our daily life and we cannot capture the extraordinary moments that God puts in our way. However, when the future is uncertain from all points of view and insecurity reaches unequaled levels, as is currently the case with COVID-19, our perspective changes. We are then in front of a special moment of our life and we are fully aware of it! We find ourselves individually facing a situation similar to that of Esther who was called by God to make a difference in the lives of her people (Esther 4).
As believers, we can be confident that God has planned our help and deliverance. The question before us, however, is this: do we want to be His instruments to bring relief and deliverance to our people? Perhaps each of us is called to meditate on the words of Mordecai to Esther: ‘‘ Who knows? Perhaps it was for a circumstance such as this that you came to … ’’ (Esther 4:14b)
Esther’s life was not easy. Think about it, she was the queen and lived in a palace, but she had been forced into a marriage which, as the text suggests, was not the most fulfilling. She lived in the same house as her husband but was only one of many. She hadn’t seen him in thirty days and she was afraid he would kill her if she met him without being invited (Esther 4:11). Yet when asked to put all that she had at the service of God: her life and the opportunity she had to influence the king, she did so courageously (Esther 4:15-16).
Today as yesterday, believers make a difference through prayer, fasting and courageous decisions inspired by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. There are rich stories with inspiring singles. Christina Noble, a divorced Christian, responded to God’s call to go to Vietnam to care for orphans during the Vietnam War. Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian who never married, was an incredible witness of love and forgiveness during and after the Second World War in saving the lives of many Jews and forgiving her attackers. Joseph Scriven, a bachelor whose fiancée died tragically, blessed generations of Christians by writing the poem which would later become the famous hymn ‘‘ What a friend we have in Jesus ’’.
We too are writing the history of God’s people through the decisions we make. So go ahead: ask the Lord to show you how you can witness to your nation His love and His presence in this trial. Have a heart ready to listen to His voice and be willing to obey.