Called for Chaos

​So a couple of weeks ago, I ran into a girl named Esther. She’s pretty cool, flat out gorgeous, and scared out of her mind. Why? Well, she’s a queen (fancy huh?), and her king just allowed somebody to come in & convince him to allow an attack on her people. How could he, right?! Well, he doesn’t quite know that her people are….her people. He has no idea that she’s a Jew because she never told him. On top of all of this, her uncle has essentially checked her & told her to speak up on behalf of her people, but that could very easily get her killed. See why she’s scared? This is literally a very deadly situation. Yet, I’m encouraged by Esther, and you should be too! Why? Well, because she, like all of us, has been called for chaos, and eventually comes out of this situation victorious, wiser, and very much alive. 

​So here’s what had happened: King Ahasuerus dethroned Queen Vashti (she wasn’t a supporter of the games he tried to play), and needed a new Queen. After quite the process, Esther is chosen. She was favored from day one, and that favor carried her straight to Vashti’s old spot. However, she never revealed her heritage (he didn’t ask; she was told not to tell). All’s well until Haman enters the picture…with a plot to kill Esther’s people (coincidentally because her uncle wasn’t a supporter of the games they tried to play). The King approves Haman’s plan to kill everybody connected to Esther’s heritage, Esther’s uncle hears about it, and summons his hookup in the palace. He wants her to do something (if anybody can, it’s you girl). She responds, essentially telling him that he doesn’t understand how things work up here. See, you don’t just waltz up to the King & make demands. If he doesn’t send for you, you don’t come for him; people literally die that way, and the King hasn’t sent for Esther all month. Esther’s uncle….wasn’t having that. So he checked her like only family can. He essentially told her to not get this game twisted. ‘You can help us…or nah, but if you don’t, somebody else will step in & do it. Trust me, God’s got us. Recognize that if you don’t, you & your father’s house will still suffer. Hoooowwweevvverrrrr, who’s to say that you haven’t been placed in this position of power….for such a time as this?’ That….that shifted Esther out of ‘pause’…and into purpose.

     I think Mordecai’s (Esther’s uncle) comments showed Esther something that we all need to see: the cost of her silence. Do you recognize the cost of your silence? So many times, we put our purpose on pause. We come up with so many excuses (I need to do this, I need to get this get this together, blah blah blah), when the truth is: we’re just scared. Who’s to say that God hasn’t called you….in your dangerous place? In your broken place? In your wounded place? Who told you that you had to be perfect to fulfill your purpose? (Well, they were wrong) It’s in times like these that I hear the words that God spoke to Moses (yep...Moses...in a story about Esther)  back in Deut. 2:3: “you’ve circled in this place (of excuses, of fear, of pain) long enough…move forward.” For if you don’t move into your purpose…

     Somebody else’s destiny could be delayed. So many people make the mistake of underestimating the true power that God has given them. What we often fail to realize is that we aren’t the only people that benefit from what God has placed in us. Imagine how your life may have been if you hadn’t heard a certain sermon, song, etc. that changed the way that you viewed your life, your situation…or your God. What if those people told God ‘no’? What if those people sat in the very fear that has kept you captive for God knows how long? Just as your destiny was pushed through their voice, somebody else’s destiny is waiting to hear yours. However, I think we hear enough about how our “yes” will impact others; I’m more interested in showing you how your “yes” impacts you. 

     Your destiny will suffer. You don’t want your destiny to pay the price for your disobedience. Then, you’ll have to watch somebody else do your job. There’s a pain, a certain level of…unhappiness…that comes in watching relief that God called you to provide come from another place. What’s sad is that they’ll likely be good, but who knows what could’ve happened if you dared to step up to the plate. Never underestimate the power of your impact. It’s like Mordecai told Esther, you aren’t the only one that God can use to get this done, but you better believe that nobody can do this like you can. We’re unique for a reason. So there’s something that you bring to the equation that nobody else does. There’s a certain…pizazz that you have inside of you that God has placed there & that He wants to use. Don’t let fear of failure keep you from doing what God has called you to do. You can either risk a loss and move forward, or take a definite loss and continue to repeat your excuses. Esther had to choose between potential death, or definite death. However, once she realized that she serves a God that defies death regardless, she stepped out on Him…and saved a massive population. If she did all of that…back then, imagine what you can do now. You don’t really have much to lose…except for your destiny. Is it worth it? I think not…

     You’ll miss your moment. Mordecai realized something that Esther, and many of us, didn’t quite understand in the midst of chaos: God can (and will) call you to chaos. He has called you to this specific brand of chaos. More importantly, He’s called you to conquer this specific brand of chaos. Like many of us, Esther had to be reminded that God placed her in that position for a reason. In the event that you aren’t aware, please let me remind you that you don’t have your status, your position, your job, your money, your influence, etc. for your own sake and enjoyment. You have what you have for such a time as this. My pastor once called this ‘the mission’; it’s the ‘why’. Why do you work where you work? Why do you go to school where you go to school? Why do you lead what/who you lead? Knowing the answer to that question can sustain you through some of the toughest storms; once you know your ‘why’, other things will fall into place. Who’s to say that God hasn’t placed you here….for this chaotic season? What makes you think that God can’t call you into a place, “elevate you”, etc….to stand up when you really just want to be silent? What in the entire world has convinced you that the presence of this storm indicates the absence of God? Who’s to say that this isn’t the very moment that He steps up, and wins it all…through you? If you continue to allow yourself to be paralyzed by fear, you’ll miss your moment. He told you to move now for a reason; the last thing you want to do is make the right move...in the wrong season.

     If I’ve learned anything in my little lifetime, I’ve learned that God will always call you out of your comfort zone & will require you to expose yourself. In order for Esther to free her people, she had to admit that they were her people. The same is typically true for us. You can better help the broken by admitting that you’ve been broken. Your words about healing is more effective when it’s paired with stories of how you’ve been sick. I’m more likely to connect with somebody who’s been where I am…and made it. We can’t be so ashamed of our past that we don’t reveal it when God tells us to reveal it. That’s the blessing, suga: you actually made it. That’s where the breakthrough is. That’s where somebody’s freedom is. That’s where somebody’s deliverance is. It’s in the fact that your past is similar to their present moment. Your very existence, your position, your elevation, is a sign to somebody that God can take ‘low’ people & put them in amazing places, but they won’t know it…if you don’t speak. 

     One final thing that I noticed about Esther is that once she started doing what God called her to do, she was terrified. She had to be terrified, but she did it anyway. God is calling us to do the same thing. You’ve got to feel the fear…and do it anyway. God hasn’t called you to do anything that He hasn’t already equipped and positioned you to do. You’ve been placed here for ‘such a time as this’. Yes, it looks crazy. Yes, you’re scared. Yes….you can do this. The very fact that He’s telling you do this means that He’s got your back on this. When has He failed? Exactly. Feel the fear. Stand in Him. Do it anyway. Go. Be great. You were called, created, and made to conquer…this chaos. 

Background Music: Built for This - James Fortune 

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