{"id":5509,"date":"2026-06-16T08:28:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/?p=5509"},"modified":"2026-06-16T08:28:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:28:19","slug":"for-such-a-time-as-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/16\/for-such-a-time-as-this\/","title":{"rendered":"For Such a Time as This"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast<\/em>,\u00a0click here<\/a>

There\u2019s something missing in the book of Esther.

God isn’t mentioned once, even though Esther is one of the 66 books of the Bible.\u00a0\u00a0

God’s name<\/em> may be missing from the book’s 168 verses, but God<\/em> is definitely not AWOL or \u201cabsent without leave\u201d in Esther\u2019s story.

The\u00a0account of this\u00a0ancient Jewish queen is\u00a0joyfully celebrated in Jewish communities around the\u00a0world.\u00a0At midwinter, families gather in a carnival-like atmosphere in their synagogues to commemorate the festival of Purim, which recalls the suspenseful drama portrayed in the book.\u00a0\u00a0

Esther’s story is worth celebrating\u00a0because it’s one of those rare accounts\u00a0in which the Jews triumph over their enemies.\u00a0

But the happy ending\u00a0only happens\u00a0because of her spectacular courage.

The story comes from a time about 500 years before Christ, when Jewish exiles had migrated to Persia, or modern-day Iran.\u00a0A vengeful prime minister named Haman makes\u00a0it his personal mission to eradicate this new Jewish population.\u00a0From Haman to Hitler, this is nothing new. Tyrants routinely\u00a0attempt government-sponsored genocide\u00a0of God’s people.\u00a0\u00a0

Who can prevent this tragedy?\u00a0\u00a0

Only one person is available to\u00a0stand in the gap. It is Esther, a beautiful young woman who just happens to be the queen of Xerxes, the supreme Persian monarch.\u00a0

How in the world is she in the right place at the right time?\u00a0Her story involves a series of remarkable happenstances.\u00a0

The former queen, Vashti, just happens to be dismissed.\u00a0Esther just happens to win a beauty contest to become the royal successor.\u00a0The king just happens to be unable to sleep one night \u2013 perhaps because DoorDash just happens to have brought him Taco Bell takeout right before bedtime \u2013 and picks up some reading material that just happens to report the good deed of a Jew named Mordecai, who just happens to be Esther’s cousin.\u00a0\u00a0

According to the book, is there any chance that all these things are “just happening”? Absolutely not.\u00a0Someone is working behind the scenes.\u00a0Even though he isn’t mentioned by name, God’s fingerprints are everywhere.

With the date of the Jews’ slaughter (pre-arranged by Haman) rapidly approaching, Esther alone is strategically positioned to reach the king’s ear.\u00a0But she is afraid \u2013 and justifiably so.\u00a0She is married to a man who strongly prefers that his women be seen and not heard.

According to the law, Esther may go to him only when he invites her \u2013 and she has not been summoned for a month.

In Esther 4:14, the signature verse of the book, Mordecai reminds his cousin that it’s not enough to be in the right place at the right time.\u00a0She now has to do the right thing.\u00a0

Mordecai asks, “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Two verses later Esther boldly declares, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law.\u00a0And if I perish, I perish.”\u00a0It just so happens, however, that the king’s heart is warmed as she approaches him.\u00a0He listens to her plea, responds immediately, and the Jews of Persia are saved from extermination.

What is the bottom line of this modest little book?\u00a0Nothing in the world just happens.<\/em>

Is there any chance that anything in your life today is going to happen by chance?\u00a0Not a chance.

Maybe you’re facing a crucial meeting.\u00a0Who knows but that God has entrusted this opportunity to you for such a time as this?\u00a0

Maybe you’re about to be stuck in the checkout line at Target behind the world’s most confused shopper.\u00a0Who knows but that you have been chosen to be in that line for such a time as this?\u00a0

Who knows but that you have been given oversight of a child with special needs, or have just been asked to help a struggling\u00a0friend, or have just been told by your doctor that you need to slow down your pace of life\u00a0\u2013 for such a time as this?

That’s why our call is to stop\u00a0and pray in every circumstance, “Lord, what are you trying to show me or teach me right now?”\u00a0We take seriously the possibility that the nudges and promptings we feel are indeed the voice of God, ensuring that we are in the right places at the right times.

And then our call is to do the right thing.

I vividly remember a weekday morning years ago when I felt uncommonly depressed.\u00a0In truth, I was drowning in\u00a0self-pity.\u00a0Just before I trudged into\u00a0a series of meetings, I decided I could at least sort my mail.

A card had arrived the day before.\u00a0Inside was a simple handwritten note.\u00a0It was a reminder that God cared for me.\u00a0It ended with these words:\u00a0“Perhaps this card can cheer you if you’re in the middle of a tough time.”\u00a0Who knew that God would use those simple words, innocently penned 48 hours earlier, to rescue me at such a time as that?

God knew.<\/em>

Be like Esther today.\u00a0Trust that God has placed you in the right place at the right time.

Who knows but that you have just received this word of encouragement for such a time\u00a0as this?\u00a0\u00a0
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here There\u2019s something missing in the book of Esther. God isn’t mentioned once, even though Esther is one of the 66 books of the Bible.\u00a0\u00a0 God’s name may be missing from the book’s 168 verses, but God is definitely not AWOL or \u201cabsent without leave\u201d in Esther\u2019s story. The\u00a0account of this\u00a0ancient Jewish… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[94,1128,351],"class_list":["post-5509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-courage","tag-esther","tag-providence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5509"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5511,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5509\/revisions\/5511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}