Trying to be like Esther

Whenever I hear the word "courage" I automatically think of the biblical heroine, Esther. But as I have studied the story of Esther more in depth I have come to realize that she emulates a lot more than just courage. She is also a beautiful example of faith, humility, love, and wisdom-to name just a few.

To sum up the story of Esther, she risked her life to save the lives of all her people, the Jews. An evil man named Haman asked the king to sign a decree saying that all the Jews would be killed. Unbeknownst to the king, his wife, Esther, was a Jew. Mordecai, Esther's uncle, asked Esther to go in to the king and let him know who she truly was and ask him to spare the Jews. This wasn't such an easy task though, because in this kingdom anyone who requested an audience with the king without being invited could be put to death if the king desired, even if it was his own wife. Esther tells this dreadful fact to Mordecai who responds by saying: "Think not with thyself...more than all the Jews...who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:13-14) In other words, Don't think of yourself more than all of your people, who knows if saving the Jews isn't the very reason that you were chosen to marry the king? Esther then responds by asking him to have all the Jews fast and pray for her and concludes by saying "If I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16) Esther's response of having everyone pray for her is one of the things that show me of her great humility. It isn't easy to admit that you need help, both from those around you and from Heavenly Father. But Esther did just that. She knew she could not do this task on her own. Her great faith shows when she states: "If I perish, I perish". She was putting her life into Heavenly Father's hands and accepted whatever He had in store for her, and her courage is also very apparent in this statement. Esther then requested an audience with the King and thankfully, the King permits her to live and asks what her request is. Instead of just jumping in and asking him to save the Jews, she requests his attendance at a banquet that she had prepared for the following day. This, to me, shows Esther's wisdom. She took the time to plan and prepare. She thought it out, and created the best possible situation for the King to grant her request. And of course, Esther's love shows throughout this story. She loved her people, her uncle, and her God more than her own life. This causes me to think of the verse in John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Fortunately, Esther did not need to lay down her life for the people. The King realized Haman's true colors and instead of all the Jews being killed, Haman was killed. Esther was able to accomplish the mission set forth for her in becoming queen.

The motivating thought that Mordecai shares with Esther: "who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" causes me to think of the "kingdoms" that each one of us are in. I know that where we are, and the people that we are with, are there for a purpose. God has specific missions that he would like each of us to accomplish in the situations he puts us in. Lives we can touch, situations we can change, people to touch us. As we strive to develop these divine attributes that Esther possessed, we will be better prepared to accomplish those things our wise Heavenly Father has in mind for us, and we have the ability to save lives as Esther did.