Golfers often refer to a "sweet spot" on a driver. It is that specific place on the surface of the club where impact with the ball is maximized and the ball travels the furthest. When the swing is just right, and the club impacts the ball in that specific spot, a golfer enjoys the satisfaction of a good drive (something I've rarely experienced!).
There is a "sweet spot" in the spiritual realm, and it is when we are in the right place at the right time in order for God's purposes to best connect with the specific need of the moment. Perhaps the most outstanding biblical example of this is Esther. This short, ten-chapter Old Testament story is loaded with romance, intrigue, conspiracy, power, greed, and hope. It is the story of a sinister plot to annihilate the Jewish race (a recurring theme in human history), and of God's miraculous intervention through unlikely circumstances. Ultimately, the focal point of this highly-dramatic episode is Queen Esther - a young Jewish woman elevated to a high position of royalty prior to the unfolding plot of Jewish genocide. Insulated in her position of royalty from the ominous developments, an urgent message is received from her uncle, Mordecai, appealing to her to take action.
"Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this ?" (Esther 4:13-14)
The right place at the right time; God's "sweet spot". Is it not possible, inquires Mordecai, that Esther has been placed in her position of royalty "for such a time as this ?" And indeed she had; she alone was successful in averting the intended genocide, and the legacy of the Feast of Purim is established in Jewish tradition to commemorate Esther's role in these dramatic events.
Esther's story is our story. We, the people of God, have been placed right where we are "for such a time as this". The purpose for our place in time and geography may not be for anything as dramatic as preventing a holocaust, but the purpose is vitally important nevertheless. It is not an accident that you are where you are at this particular point in time. You may long to be somewhere else, doing something else, but that which you seek to escape from may be the very circumstances that God most greatly desires to use for His purposes and glory. You are where you are at this point in time for a reason.
It's easy to look at the story of Queen Esther and conclude that we could have the greatest impact for the cause of the Kingdom of God if only we could be in a position of power and influence as she was. But consider the Prince who became a pauper in order to fulfill God's greatest plan: "although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:6-7). Either extreme, or somewhere in between (where most of us are), is the place for God's will to be done in and through us at this time.
Prayerfully consider your present circumstances, and remain faithful and steady where you are, because it is "for such a time as this" that you are where you are.
Steve
There is a "sweet spot" in the spiritual realm, and it is when we are in the right place at the right time in order for God's purposes to best connect with the specific need of the moment. Perhaps the most outstanding biblical example of this is Esther. This short, ten-chapter Old Testament story is loaded with romance, intrigue, conspiracy, power, greed, and hope. It is the story of a sinister plot to annihilate the Jewish race (a recurring theme in human history), and of God's miraculous intervention through unlikely circumstances. Ultimately, the focal point of this highly-dramatic episode is Queen Esther - a young Jewish woman elevated to a high position of royalty prior to the unfolding plot of Jewish genocide. Insulated in her position of royalty from the ominous developments, an urgent message is received from her uncle, Mordecai, appealing to her to take action.
"Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this ?" (Esther 4:13-14)
The right place at the right time; God's "sweet spot". Is it not possible, inquires Mordecai, that Esther has been placed in her position of royalty "for such a time as this ?" And indeed she had; she alone was successful in averting the intended genocide, and the legacy of the Feast of Purim is established in Jewish tradition to commemorate Esther's role in these dramatic events.
Esther's story is our story. We, the people of God, have been placed right where we are "for such a time as this". The purpose for our place in time and geography may not be for anything as dramatic as preventing a holocaust, but the purpose is vitally important nevertheless. It is not an accident that you are where you are at this particular point in time. You may long to be somewhere else, doing something else, but that which you seek to escape from may be the very circumstances that God most greatly desires to use for His purposes and glory. You are where you are at this point in time for a reason.
It's easy to look at the story of Queen Esther and conclude that we could have the greatest impact for the cause of the Kingdom of God if only we could be in a position of power and influence as she was. But consider the Prince who became a pauper in order to fulfill God's greatest plan: "although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:6-7). Either extreme, or somewhere in between (where most of us are), is the place for God's will to be done in and through us at this time.
Prayerfully consider your present circumstances, and remain faithful and steady where you are, because it is "for such a time as this" that you are where you are.
Steve
posted by steve @ 7:38 AM
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