Courage

Courage

If I must die, I am willing to die.

Esther 4:16

Esther was the woman of the hour. She had been chosen by the Persian king to be his new queen—but he didn’t know she was Jewish. Wicked Prime Minister Haman went to the impulsive king and proposed paying the equivalent of a hundred thousand dollars into the king’s treasury in exchange for the destruction of the Jews. In God’s gracious providence, Esther’s cousin Mordecai overheard the plot and was able to communicate it to the queen. Because Mordecai dared to act, Esther ultimately decided to go to the king on behalf of the Jews. This was a great risk because protocol dictated that anyone approaching the king without having been invited could be killed instantly, unless the king held out his golden scepter. Before going, Esther asked her people to gather together for three days of fasting. Then she said, “If I die, I die.”

In the meantime, Haman had constructed a gallows on which he planned to hang Mordecai. But because of Esther’s courage and trust in God’s plan to save the Jews, Haman’s evil was eventually exposed, and in a great reversal the king used the gallows to hang Haman.

It’s important for us to see that Esther’s courage was not in herself. Rather, she waited on God’s providence and strength. In the same way, we don’t beat Satan and his schemes with courage we muster up ourselves. We should thank God that because of Christ’s victory over death and sin on the cross, the devil’s schemes can be defeated in our lives.

God our preserver,

Thank you that the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. Please give us your courage as we face struggles within our own families. Thanks for the victory only you can give in defeating the devil’s schemes. Amen.