Right Thing Right Time
BRD REFLECTIONS
(Liu Yueh Mei, Chairperson, Information Systems)
READ:
Esther 7 (ESV)
OBSERVE:
vv1-2 – So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”
Opportunity: An opportunity was presented to Esther when the king asked her what her petition was.
v3 – Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favour in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.
Personal Pitch: Esther presented her petition from a personal angle, knowing that she had done nothing except please the king. She put herself forward with tact and wisdom and carried her people behind her.
It was not without risk that Esther made such a petition. It was after all the king who gave Haman the authorisation for the plot, although it was given in ignorance.
v10 – Then the king said, “Hang him on it!” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.
Round closed: The king was in a rage and, even more, when he thought Haman was trying to outrage the Queen’s modesty in his presence, he ordered the death of Haman, using the very means that Haman had prepared for Mordecai.
APPLY:
Esther was instrumental in protecting and saving the Jews in Persia. She was in a position of influence yet it was also delicate. As a queen, she cannot be involved in the politics, and definitely cannot be seen to be protecting the Jews. She fasted and prayed, and waited for the opportune moment to make her pitch. Fasting and prayer certainly gave Esther the tact and wisdom needed to make the pitch right – one chance one strike. This moment of the right strike took many days of prayers, fasting, patiently waiting upon the Lord. Many may have felt that the Queen was not making the effort and was taking such a long time as the day when Mordecai would be killed was getting nearer.
Furthermore, with divine intervention, Haman made it look much worse as if he was outraging the Queen’s modesty when he was actually begging for mercy.
DO:
Fast and Pray: Sometimes I am hasty to act, in all good intentions. I will take a step back to fast and pray, and wait upon the Lord to grant me an opportune time to act.
Position of Influence: How can I worship God in my position of influence? Am I brave and courageous to stand up for my people?
Wisdom and tact: With fasting and prayer, in my position of influence to offer myself in worship to God, assured that He will empower me with wisdom and tact to do the right thing at the right time.
PRAY:
Dear God, have mercy on us. Thank you for the position you have put us in; use us for your glory. Grant us the wisdom to see how we can worship to you, wherever we are, whatever we do. Be it in a church service or in a secular workplace, use us for your glory. Grant us courage to serve you by standing up for your people. Grant us wisdom to sense the right time to do the right thing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
