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Have you ever had to step out in faith, even though it might cost you everything-even your life? That's exactly what happened to Esther, but God gave her the courage to risk everything to save her people, the Jews.
When Esther became the queen of Persia, she acted bravely in the face of danger. She trusted God to not only save her life, but all of the Jewish people during King Xerxes' rule.
Now, use your imagination, as we journey back through time to look at the Life Connection Story, "Esther."
(Story adapted from the book of Esther)
My name is Esther. I am excited to share with you how God worked in my life.
King Xerxes gave a banquet for his royal officers that lasted one hundred eighty days. He was showing off his kingdom and his own greatness, and he wanted to show off his beautiful queen too. He commanded his servants to bring Queen Vashti to the banquet, but she refused to come. The king became very angry that she disobeyed his order, so he began to search for a new queen.
Mordecai, my older cousin, adopted me when my father and mother died. Mordecai was a government official, so when he heard about the king's new search, I was sent along with several other young women for the king to see. King Xerxes chose me, and I became Queen Esther.
Soon after, the king honored a man named Haman and ordered all of the royal officials to bow down to him. But my cousin would not bow down to Haman because we were Jewish and believed that only the one true God was to be worshipped. That made Haman angry, so he started looking for a way to destroy all of the Jewish people. Have you ever had to make a stand for what you believed regardless of the outcome? That's what Mordecai did.
Haman told King Xerxes that the Jewish people would not obey the king's laws. King Xerxes gave Haman the authority to do whatever he pleased. Haman ordered all the Jews to be killed in a single day.
When Mordecai heard this news, he was very upset. He asked me to go to King Xerxes and beg for mercy for our people. Until now, no one knew that I was Jewish except Mordecai. I reminded my cousin that no one could go into the king's presence without being called by him. They would be killed (unless the king held out his gold scepter, which meant that person may live). Mordecai gave me some wise counsel that made me think, "Who knows, maybe I have been chosen queen for such a time as this." I told Mordecai that I would go to the king and risk my life for my people. And if I die, I die.
I put on my royal robe and stood facing the king's hall. When the king saw me, he held out the golden scepter. He asked what I wanted. I invited him to come with Haman to a banquet the next day. I would answer his question then.
In the meantime, Haman's wife and friends advised him to hang Mordecai for his disobedience. Haman ordered the "hanging platform" to be built.
That same night the king could not sleep. He ordered that the daily court record be read to him. It was recorded that at one time Mordecai had warned the king about two of his officers who planned to kill the king. King Xerxes asked what reward had been given to Mordecai for protecting the king. His servants answered that nothing had been done.
The next morning, Haman came to tell the king about his plan to hang Mordecai. Not good timing for Haman! Before Haman could ask about the hanging, the king asked Haman what should be done to honor someone. Haman assumed the king was talking about him, so he suggested that the honored man should wear a royal robe that the king himself had worn and ride through the city streets on the king's horse with a royal crown on its head. The king commanded Haman to do all that for Mordecai. That made Haman very angry!
At my banquet, the king asked me what I wanted. He offered to give me up to half of his kingdom. But I asked the king to let all the Jewish people live because there were orders for all of us to be killed. He asked who gave the orders. I answered, "Haman." King Xerxes ordered that Haman be hung on the very platform that he had built for Mordecai.
Then the king ordered that the Jewish people not be killed, and said they had the right to protect themselves from anyone who tried to attack them. Mordecai became second in command to King Xerxes, and he became the most important man among the Jews.
Let's thank God that we can always trust Him to provide the courage we need in any situation. Pray these words of thanks to Him:
God, thank You that we don't have to be afraid. You've promised to never leave us, and we can trust You to provide the courage we need when we have something hard to do. You will be with us just like you were with Mordecai and Esther.
Use the book of Esther and the Life Connection Story. They will help you complete your Life Connection Response.
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