Gracious Tongue of Peace

Esther had been appointed Queen. She pleased the king. She was living in the lap of luxury and was truly blessed. She had extreme favour on her life. Her uncle Mordicai had brought her up in the ways of the Lord and it was through him that she was sent to the palace where she was selected as Queen in place of Vashti, the previous queen. She knew where she came from, but the luxury of being queen kept her ignorant of the suffering of her people. She had lapsed into a comfort zone. Her uncle had never really told her what her mission was when she became queen. She was a Jew and the king never knew it. She had to hide her race as Jews were hated in that country. The persecution of her people was so severe that Mordecai had to call on her to plead on behalf of her people. She was someone on the inside who had access to the king. The position granted her came with responsibilities. The responsibility was that she would appeal to the king on behalf of her people. She was the queen but she had to wait before she could go before the King. He had to call for her in order for her to have an audience with him. She tried explaining to her uncle but he told her “if you do not act, salvation would come from somewhere else”. She had to make a decision, going into the court before the king could mean instant death, if he did not raise his sword to allow her access. She had to be wise and gracious with her tongue to pacify the king with her request. A decision had to be made. Esther was smart, she got all the people to fast with her for three days, to engage God and get his favour for success. On the third day, she entered the court of the king, trembling and fearful, but God gave her favour and she spoke with a gracious tongue, making a request to the king.

She had to act, despite her fear and despite the fact that she could be instantly killed. Her mission was her salvation. Her obedience activated the hand of God to walk on her behalf. Her actions brought deliverance to her people and God blessed her by giving her favour with the king.

Many times we are expected to do something that we are really not willing to do because we know our actions could bring disastrous consequences. However, our obedience and step of faith brings salvation not only to ourselves but those around us who are in need. An example of this is a manager who speaks on behalf of his team, even though management may think this is being disloyal. Standing up for righteousness comes with a cost but the rewards are endless.