by Kevin Burton
Did you ever ask God what time it is?
You may be thinking, with all the mysteries of this life and the next, If God is hearing me, the last thing I would ask Him is what the time is.
Well I’m not talking about the time of day. I’m down with that old Chicago song that asks, does anybody really know what time it is?
It’s one of the best questions ever asked on rock radio. It’s a good question to ask God because He knows what time it really is, with precision and exactitude. His answer probably won’t have anything to do with hands on a clock.
Why do we need to know the time anyway? It’s because we have our lives sectioned off according to activities and responsibilities and we want to know if work time is done and play time, or sleep time, can begin.
If we’re asking God what time it is, we’re really asking, what do You want me to do at this time? Is there a larger mission here?
According to the Old Testament, a young Jewish woman named Esther was living her normal life when she was placed in a position to help her people, or not. The Jews were living in captivity under King Ahasuerus of Persia. Her cousin Mordecai told Esther not to reveal the fact that she was a Jew in her dealings with the king and his officers.
Pastor Erwin Lutzer tells the story succinctly in his book “Covering Your Life in Prayer, Discover a Life-changing Conversation with God.”
“Through divine providence she was selected by King Ahasuerus to replace his rebellious wife Vashti, and so Esther had access to the king. And when the king unwittingly agreed to a plot to kill all the Jews in his kingdom, it was Esther who intervened, and the plot was averted,” Lutzer writes.
There was a little more to it. Esther faced a decision on how she would handle the situation. Her dilemma is explained on http://www.gotquestions.org.
“Esther was reluctant to approach the king, because it was against the law to come before the king’s presence uninvited – on pain of death,” the website wrote.
“Mordecai presented Esther with a choice. She could choose to recognize her providential placing in the royal court and opt to risk her own life in an effort to save her people. Or she could choose to remain silent, try to protect herself, and hope for the best.”
This is what Mordecai told Queen Esther, recorded in Esther 4:13-14 NKJV.
“Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther took the chance and approached the king.
“Esther became God’s instrument of deliverance for the Jews in Persia,” the website reads.
“As the experience of Esther shows, God uses people in fulfilling His purpose. No matter what the situation, God has His instruments of deliverance and victory.”
“We, like Esther, have meaningful choices to make. We may not have as much power and influence as Esther had, but God has still placed us where He wants us to be, ‘for such a time as this.’”
“We have a God-given circle of influence. We cannot stand idly by while injustice occurs. We must pay attention to what’s happening around us and seek God’s direction. He has placed us in the time, the position, and the place He wants us to be. And He invites us to confidently join in His work.”
In the United States we have entered a dangerous time, the inauguration and turnover of political power.
If you read my posts you have read a few hints at a coming national cataclysm. I can’t begin to imagine why anyone would think the events of 1-6-21 are the last of it.
But either way, you still have family, workplace, or community situations that you are uniquely qualified to handle. God has you in place, for such a time as this.
Take a look at what is happening around you. Will you ask God what time it is and act accordingly?
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