As present-day believers, we underestimate what we have in common with heroes of the faith like Esther and Paul. Yet our humanity and need for Jesus tie us together and allow God to use us in surprising ways.
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.” It’s a quote from The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears by Mark Batterson that's now a household phrase in Christian circles.
This quote motivates me whenever I need a little kick in the pants to stop making excuses as to why I’m not feeling quite up to the task that God has placed in front of me.
The Bible highlights the lives of several unlikely heroes who weren’t anything special, yet God used them to accomplish great and mighty missions. They didn’t wake up one day ready to slay giants, tear down walls, or sleep with lions. No, God called them first and then equipped them as they stepped forward in faith.
This year, I have been reading through the letters from Apostle Paul to his churches, and somewhere in the course of this study, I was reminded of the story of Queen Esther. For the first time in my spiritual life, I discovered that Paul and Esther are more alike than I realized.
Esther is an orphan raised by her cousin who is selected to be the beloved queen of King Xerxes. (To learn more about Esther’s story, read the Book of Esther. It's a short but fun, even romantic, read!)
Likewise, we learn in Acts that before Paul (previously known as Saul) started founding churches in the name of Jesus, he was a highly respected Pharisee known for persecuting the Church (Acts 8:3). (To learn more about Paul’s powerful conversion, read Acts 9:1-19.)
So what do Esther, an unlikely orphan queen, and Paul, an unworthy, despicable Pharisee-turned-Christ-follower, have in common not only with each other but with you and me?
By the world’s standards, Esther was nobody special, but God would use her to deliver the Jews. Paul, the man responsible for the persecution and death of many Christ-followers, would go on to found about 20 churches and write almost half of the New Testament (13 of the 27 books).
Two people, who lived almost 500 years apart, both Jews, serving the same God, were each commissioned to seemingly impossible tasks. Yet, the more they trusted God and moved forward in faith, the more doors God opened for them. And this, my friend, is where we can find commonality with Esther and Paul.
They had plenty of reasons to quit before they even started, and to even turn back, yet they didn’t allow the obstacles (that inhibit us today) from being used by God to do mighty things for His Kingdom. As I studied and compared Esther and Paul, I noticed three things that we often allow to prevent us from leaning into our calling:
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1. Limiting Beliefs About Our Background
A limiting belief is any thought or mindset that you allow to keep you from doing something that you either want to do or have been tasked to do.
Esther, a young Jewish orphan, though beautiful, didn’t have a background that would be considered worthy of royalty. Her limiting belief very well could’ve been that she was not qualified.
Throughout the selection process, her cousin, Mordecai, instructed her to keep her nationality and family background a secret (Esther 2:10, 20), afraid it would deter the king. At any point in time, if Esther allowed this limiting belief to hijack her mind, she would not have been able to win over the heart of the king. Instead, in Esther 2:17 (NIV), we see that she was victorious, despite her background:
“Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.”
Likewise, Paul had his own reasons to allow limiting beliefs to be a hindrance to his calling. The day that Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus, everything started to shift in his life. From that day forward, he no longer persecuted Christians but joined them in building the church:
“At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.” Acts 9:20 (NIV)
Paul was met with resistance almost immediately because people remembered what he had done and who he was. The other apostles were afraid of him and thought that he was just posing as a disciple. Despite the limiting beliefs imposed on him by others, he continued to preach until they finally believed him (Acts 9:21-28).
I wonder how much of my own background and upbringing I have allowed to hold me back from my fullest potential and what God has called me to. How many times have we used the excuse that we’re not good enough, smart enough, or qualified enough to forego a God-given opportunity placed in our lap?
Two unlikely and unexpected characters are immersed almost instantly into their new roles. If we take a step back and truly look at each of these stories from a worldly perspective, Esther should have never been a queen and Paul should have never been an apostle. But the truth is, God has never been one to allow our limiting beliefs to prevent Him from telling us who He says we are and what He can do through us.
Paul and Esther teach us that despite our backgrounds, God can still use us for the good of His people and His purpose.
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2. Fear of What Might Happen
Esther was selected to be queen at that specific time for a specific purpose, but if she had allowed her fears to hold her back, God wouldn't have carried out His plan of saving the Jewish nation through her. Shortly after becoming queen, one of the king’s highly honored court officials, Haman, conspired and convinced the King to approve killing the Jewish people:
“Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day.” Esther 3:13 (NIV)
The fate of the Jewish people rested on Esther’s shoulders. She didn’t have room or time for fear. She had to take the risk. After three days of fasting, she put her plan in motion:
“I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Esther 4:16 (NIV)
Because of Esther’s bravery, in a pivotal turn of events, Haman was put to death, and the Jews were saved.
Paul’s writings to the church in Corinth highlight the true dangers and suffering that he experienced as a missionary. Yet, despite all these things, he admits in 2 Corinthians 12:20-21 (NIV) his biggest fear:
“For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented.”
You see, Paul knew he could not stop, despite living in the face of death, because it meant that he was driven by the necessity to lead souls to Christ and, subsequently, eternal life (2 Corinthians 4:12).
Paul overcame the fear of death, prison, and torture all for the good of others and the glory of God. In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV), he exhorts us with this passage as a reminder of why we should not allow fear to obstruct our mission and purpose:
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
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3. The Reality of Resistance
Esther and Paul both faced adversity. They stood up for what they believed in and could have been killed for it. Both had a platform where people looked to them as leaders and for guidance. Both had enemies and could’ve been put to death at any moment. Both were Jews who served the same God and had the same ultimate purpose—to save the Jewish people from death.
They both also had a choice. They could’ve listened to their fears, their limiting beliefs, and given up when met with resistance.
You absolutely are allowed to let your limiting beliefs, fears, and resistance hold you back. But you risk missing out on the blessings and rewards that come with stepping forward in faith. I choose to view these types of opportunities as blessings, not curses. Just because something is difficult does not mean it’s impossible or joyless.
Trust me, there is always someone else ready to take on the challenge. When Esther exhibited fear of taking on the risk to save her people, Mordecai said this to her:
“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:13-14 (NIV)
If God tells you to do something, I want you to understand that He is also equipping you to do it, regardless of whether or not you think you’re capable and whether or not anybody else believes you’re qualified.
”By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.“ 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)
Let’s not waste any opportunity to be used by God. Can we agree that we will no longer let limiting beliefs, fear, or resistance deter us from the path that God has set before us?
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Originally published Wednesday, 01 May 2024.
