Finding Purpose with Esther

I want to encourage those of you who do not know your purpose (and may never know your purpose) but feel a pull to do something, anything, for the kingdom of God.

You are not alone my Sister and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you.  You do NOT have to know your purpose to be used by God.

Don’t believe me?  Let’s talk about my girl, Esther, in the bible.

To make a long story short, the reigning queen, Vashti, was dethroned.  The king’s servants advised him to hold a beauty contest (for the lack of a better phrase) to find a new queen.  All the young women in the kingdom were brought into the palace where they underwent twelve months of purification before being seen by the king.

The king loved Esther above all the other candidates and he selected her to be the new queen.  Nowhere in the book of Esther does the bible indicate Esther knew her purpose.

At one point her cousin, Mordecai, told her “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?” (Esther 4:14).  It seems Mordecai suspected Esther’s purpose while she seemed clueless.

Although she didn’t specifically know her purpose, Esther fully walked in her purpose when she was able to save her people’s lives.

Esther didn’t understand the impact Vashti’s rebellion would have on her life.  She also didn’t know she would be selected as the queen or meet with the king when the time arose.  Esther just walked in her purpose.  She made decisions for her people instead of solely for herself.

And that is the key to walking in our purpose.

When we stop making selfish decisions and start making decisions that further the kingdom of God, we are walking in purpose.

We’re walking in our purpose when we can bless others. When we can allow God to have His way in our lives, even when we don’t know He’s moving in our lives, we are walking in purpose.

It’s interesting the book of Esther is the only book of the bible that doesn’t mention God’s name.  This young lady didn’t hear a voice from heaven.  An angel didn’t speak to her.  A prophet didn’t say, “Thus saith the Lord…”  She simply walked it out.

Six years ago, I was walking in my calling and purpose.  I was teaching, singing on the praise team, overseeing the women’s ministry, counseling, witnessing for Christ and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit instructed.  I thought I was set!  Until I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

My purpose expanded to include encouraging women who’ve been diagnosed with the same illness.  My point is, people may think they know their purpose and may even be walking in it, but God has a way of switching things up.

Here are a few encouraging tips to help you walk in purpose:

Obey the voice of the Lord

Why even ask about your purpose if you’re not willing to obey His instructions?  Be available to the Lord and let Him use you, however, whenever, wherever He sees fit.

Glorify God

Your purpose is tied to glorifying God in your body and spirit.

Don’t put yourself or the Lord in a box

That’s one of the things that concerns me about finding your “purpose”.  What if God asks you to do something that you feel is outside your purpose?  I’m sure we’ve lost opportunities because we felt they didn’t fall within our purpose, call, or “niche”.

Let the Lord lead you

Let the Lord lead you, especially during those times you don’t hear His voice.  He leads, we follow.

Relax

While it is essential to know your purpose, it’s ok if you don’t currently know what it is.  Just continue to serve the Lord and His people.

Woman of God, please find encouragement from Esther.  Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t know your purpose.  God will reveal it in due season (click here to read another post about purpose).  In the meantime, just grab His hand and go where He leads.

Until next time,

~Aretha