Are you surrounded by people who misunderstand you or disagree with your beliefs? Do you wonder how to keep the peace without surrendering? Queen Esther from the Old Testament had the same problems. You can be like her by following her courageous example!
In the beginning of the Book of Esther, things seemed to be going very well. Esther was adored by everyone who knew her for her beauty and graciousness—the king himself even chose her over all other women to be his queen! She hadn’t told the king that she was a Jew because many people in the kingdom didn’t like Jews. It seemed safest to keep her heritage a secret.
But then the king’s assistant convinced him to decree that all the Jews should be killed. Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, wanted her to beg the king for the Jews’ lives. But Esther worried. She wasn’t allowed to go to the king unless he called for her, and he was known for his bad temper.
Does that sound familiar? Perhaps you and some of your friends hold higher values than most of the world does. It would probably be easiest for you to never talk about your beliefs or even go along with everybody else’s. That way people wouldn’t have reasons to be mad at you.
But Mordecai gave Esther some counsel that very much applies to us:
“For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (4:14)
In other words: “If you surrender, then God will help your faithful friends some other way. But you will have missed your chance to do the right thing. And who knows? Maybe this dilemma is the reason God has placed you here.”
So what should we do? We should be like Esther. She noticed the need of her people and knew she couldn’t stand idly by; she decide to help her people in whatever way she could. But the “how” was also important. Esther stood up for her people as respectfully as she could, but she still did it with boldness.
We must do everything we can to stand firm in our beliefs without being unkind. Hopefully, the results will be that we get to keep our friends. But Esther said, “[I]f I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16); she knew that doing the right thing was more important than anything else. She knew that she had a purpose.
The next time you wonder whether standing up for what you know is right will be worth the effort, apply what Esther learned. Remember that God chose you to be in your circumstances and with certain people for a reason. Choose the Lord’s protection and approval over mankind’s. Then rejoice in the blessings that come will come to you as they came to Esther.
| What Esther Did | What We Can Do |
| Politely accepted what was given (Esther 2:15) | Be grateful for blessings and give people respect |
| Obeyed her adoptive father, Mordecai (2:20) | Obey our parents and leaders |
| Asked the Jews to fast and pray for her (4:16) | Ask for our friends’ help and prayers |
| Valued her people’s lives above her own (4:16) | Value righteousness over personal comfort |
| Spoke boldly to the king and his assistant (7:3-4) | Share our beliefs and values without fear |
| Begged a second time for the Jews’ lives (8:3-6) | Never give up until we’ve accomplished our goals |
