October 6

Every one of us has a high calling that we may not begin to recognize until the moment in God’s great scheme of things when it is to be implemented. The story of Esther in the Old Testament is a profound evidence of this truth. She was an ordinary girl who had no idea of the significant role she was to play in the saving of her people the Jews from annihilation. (See the Book of Esther in the Old Testament.)

Like her, we go about our ordinary tasks as we engage with ordinary people in our ordinary lives—until God brings us to the point where we may invest ourselves for His purposes and accomplish the ends that will reveal His glory. We may not receive any recognition, but when we are truly on God’s errand, we desire only that He be glorified in us.

This is not merely an Old Testament concept. Romans 9:17 reiterates the fact that God’s intention for our lives transcends our own, whether for good or for ill, depending upon our willingness to surrender to His purposes. If we allow ourselves to be used as Esther did, He will magnify His name through our surrender.

But, Paul says of Pharaoh, who positioned himself against God, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of displaying My power in you, so My name may be proclaimed throughout the earth.” If we don’t allow our good works to glorify Him, the Lord is perfectly capable of evidencing His majesty by the destruction that we pull down upon ourselves through our rebellion.