If I Die I Die

If I Die I Die

September 11, 2017

Esther 4:16  ". . .And if I die, I die."

The story of Esther is famous enough that little needs told of it. There is a poetic portion of the true tale that reads, "such a time as this." Those words, suggesting that Esther was placed as queen by Divine providence to save her people from destruction were never spoken by Esther. Those words were spoken by Mordecai, her uncle. Mordecai feared for his own life, but not just his own life, his entire family and people. He was a good man and knew thousands of innocent people were going to die. Mordecai put on sackcloth when he heard the news of the impending death. This sackcloth not only signified mourning, but signified he was on his knees before his God searching for a way out of the mess, insight only gained through prayer. Esther, on the other hand, was slightly selfish and insecure enough to hope that hiding her identity would at least keep her alive. Esther was self-serving at this time.

Mordecai convinced her to consider those poetic words, that she was place there for such a time as this, to save the people from certain death. Esther needed this encouragement, but the encouragement was not enough to make her bold or give her the insight as to how to attempt to save everyone. The encouragement for her to consider her position was just enough to put Esther on her knees in prayer. Mordecai was already prayed up but could not act on Esther's behalf. She had to be encouraged to seek the Lord for herself on the matter. And so she did. She did not just take Mordecai's word, she prayed earnestly for divine wisdom into the matter. You cannot say Mordecai convinced her, influencing her to sacrifice her life, she had to come to that consensus on her own, consider some other words Mordecai spoke to her. He told her that if she kept quiet, the Lord would have to find another willing vessel to accomplish His will.

Esther, through this encouragement to consider the Lord's plan for her life, realized her relationship with the Lord and serving Him was far more important that staying alive. She finally came to her own resolve and personal statement. Esther mounted her courage and her famous lines are not quoted nearly as much as Mordecai's, if at all. She resolved to move forward with a plan, after seeking the Lord's face, and said, "If I die, I die." She realized it was far better to die serving the Lord than to live serving herself. 

When the Lord has something for you to do, it may seem very scary, something you may not want to consider. It will end up costing you something greatly, your status, your friendships, your wealth, maybe more. It won't be easy and the only way you'll have enough courage to attempt it is by first getting on your knees before the Lord in deep personal prayer. When you have your resolve and courage, you'll realize that the worst possible outcome of any situation in this life is death, which amounts to being with Christ in Heaven. But more importantly, you'll realize that serving the Lord and His will, no matter what the cost, is far better than ignoring Him and serving yourself. At some point you'll have  to answer to Him for your unwillingness to head His call for your life. What will your answer be? That it wasn't comfortable to serve Him? That it didn't profit you to serve Him? That it could have cost you your life to serve Him? I challenge you to consider following the Lord at all costs and come to the same resolve Esther did. If I die, I die, but it is better to die serving the Lord than to live serving myself.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Esther 4, Luke 19:40, Romans 9:21, Romans 14:18