You Never Know What Might Happen...

I just finished once again reading the wonderful story of Esther in the Old Testament. It's a great story of how God uses a young Jewish girl to change the course of history for her people and for pretty much the known world at that time. It is about a young lady who comes to a royal position just in time to save her people from destruction. It is a good story.

But a new thought occurred to me this time through. Looking at the dates of King Xerxes reign (Esther's husband) and the date of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, I thought, isn't it interesting to know that both Ezra and Nehemiah were probably young men or children during the time that Esther was queen of Persia? And, little did Esther know, but her actions possible saved the lives of Ezra and Nehemiah who later became key figures in the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls and reestablishment of the temple and priesthood for Israel? 

So, the thought is: "You never know what might happen." 

Esther struggled with her decision to approach King Xerxes with her request to save the Jewish people. But she did and it set in motion a whole chain of results. I do believe that God could have raise up salvation for the Jews even if Esther had not been obedient in the moment. But she did choose a right course of action and, even though she probably didn't live to see the eventual results, God used her faithfulness in a  mighty way.

What decisions in your life merit standing firm and doing the right thing today? What do you need to go out on a limb for because it is the right thing to do? 

You never know what might happen…But God does.