When Hope and Despair Coincide

Once upon a time, the world was in HD, with clear colours: black was black, and white was white. As I grow older, I realise we see much less than we suppose, and that there are many areas where it is grey, in varying shades. Whether we see it as white tainted with black, or black with some white, or just a mess, grey is taunting, confusing, uncertain - at once both mysterious and maddening.

Some may think of the concept of 'grey' as purely relevant for controversial issues where the answer is unclear and the lines or boundaries are blurred. I like to also think of it as periods of times in our lives where we walk in a kind of shadow. There is light, and yet not enough. The path ahead is unbearably murky.

Such is a time of hope and despair. Whether it is a broken relationship, lost dreams, no end in sight, repeated failures and dead-ends, or a life-sentence that hangs over us, we live in a revolving half-light where we simultaneously desperately hope and expect for the day and yet are most times overwhelmed with black despair.

Where is God in these times of utter lostness and brokenness?

I cannot speak for others but I can draw from my own story. I would pray passionately, and for a brief moment see with clarity that God is infinitely greater but as I turn to look at the problem, at my inadequacy, at the pool of help and answers I should be able to draw form, all is dark, dry and dead. The rains refuse to come. My opponent overwhelms me. I am alone, and my soul dies a thousand deaths choked in silent screams. Not once but again. And again. And again. Until non-existence seems like paradise.

From each death, somehow eventually, without knowing how or why, I would sit up, bundle up the puddles of my heart, set it like stone then stumble on. Looking back, I know there were brief reprieves where I would find a trickle of water, a patch of blue sky, a faint whisper of comfort - from the strength of which, like the elf-bread of Middle Earth, I would wander far, always shifting between grey and blackness until eventually it gave way to a better paradise than I could have imagined. It took many years. I don't know why.

After some time of healing, I realised I was changed. Steel had been forged in my soul. I learned that those that launched assaults against me in the night were demons that could be caught and destroyed in the name of Jesus. I learned that if I followed the instructions of that still, small, voice no matter how hard it was, small victories would add up into larger ones. Instead of turning the sword on myself, I had learnt to sharpen my sword in the blackness and fight the opponents that would pounce in the gloom, yes always with tears, often still failing, but increasingly less so.

I did not know that God could be so present, so steadfast in love throughout my unfaithfulness. I did not know how strong He is. But now I have witnessed His love and power firsthand. I will have no other God.

Today, the former foes do not have the same power. I notice their tell-tale signs as soon as they appear in the horizon and I remember the pain they dealt me, then their defeat. I give them no mercy. I remember the lessons of the night, and I teach others how to fight. There will be other foes, but I am now trained.

If the struggle I described is familiar to you, my message to you is: hope in God does not disappoint. It carries you far. His Name is far more powerful than you can imagine. Despair is a dark foe that you do not have to listen to. Know how to wield Jesus' Name and His Word. When you fall, He catches you and gives you strength to face another day. Know that there is purpose in the battles you face. Satan means for them to destroy you completely but God is with you to both overcome and help others overcome. Then the world will see the greatness of the God who has carried you.

Beyond the Grey

There is a person in your mirror who looks back at you every day in the yawning light of dawn. Most days that person wakes up with a kind of dread at the greyness that stretches ahead. Busy greyness. Sometimes that person looks back at you with a long question that starts with 'Why...', and ends with a sigh.

But what if, underneath the clean (or not so clean) shirt and shadowed eyes, lay the heart of a warrior? A warrior who warred with the weapons that are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor 10:4) - because they know that the weapons of that realm far surpass the most lethal of weapons fashioned by human knowledge.

What would change if they knew that they, like Aaron, were called to stand between the living and the dead (Numbers 16:42-48)? How would they live if they discovered that life wasn't about staying comfortable but to bring comfort to the broken (Matt 10:8)? What if they, like Nehemiah, were the ones to care deeply enough about the broken walls of a family, community or nation, then station themselves in the midst of the debris with both sword and chisel to defend and rebuild it (Nehemiah 4:17-18)?

For we are all called with a high calling and are either in the midst of being prepared for our destiny, or are already in it but have not yet seen the gleam waiting beneath the murk of grey - or once did see it but sank in the miry sloughs of life and lost sight of it still waiting behind the hills.

Life is messy and dirty. That's why it needs the Saviour housed in your heart. The world is pervaded by the infection of death in all its forms and many are in danger of being swallowed up by it. This is where you come in: the Saviour King who came to live in your heart has already won the war against death and wants all the weary and broken restored to full strength. He wants light to overthrow the every shade of grey, to throw out death where it still stubbornly holds ground. To do that, He'll restore you, and in the process enable you to restore others.

In a world crawling with the battles between the Kingdoms of Light, and of Darkness, you are a warrior whether you think you are called for it or not.

He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor... Isaiah 59:16

I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30

REPORT ALERT - Part 2: Fruitfulness

God Wants Us to Be Fruitful

Jesus says in John 15:

v. 5 - I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing... 

v.8 - By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples...

v.16 - You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name he may give you. 

It's clear here that God is interested in fruitfulness. He wants you and I to be fruitful in the areas of responsibility and purpose that we have been assigned.

How to be Fruitful

Good stewards are always…

Awake and Alert to know and respond to seasons, purpose, requirements, expectations, patterns, timeline, deliverables, current and projected status of resources etc. Glean from those with more experience, and remain prayerful and watchful without fear. Fear paralyses; love empowers.

Learning
Understand your subject thoroughly. The more you learn, the better you can get at doing something. Then, you should teach others how to do it too so you can multiply yourself in others

Efficient Effort

Get the right thing done via the best strategy, and use of resources, time and effort. Always receive God’s counsel for the best way in everything

Ready and prepared

If you are alert, you will know what is coming up ahead. Prepare ahead for expected upcoming requirements, increases in demand etc. We aren’t omniscient therefore be sensitive to God’s nudges.

Terrifically excellent

Do everything at the best possible standard with your available resources and ability. Be able to balance ideals with practicality. All this requires wisdom, and is gets better with experience. Completing tasks with excellence honours God and opens doors but you can’t generate excellence out of yourself; ask for God’s guidance, seek His favour, obey His statues & principles.

The More Excellent Way

This is a good start but there is a game changer that can take the above and make it super-effective. It will take your ability to bear much fruit to a supernatural level that is the "more excellent way" (1 Cor 12:1): LOVE.

Jesus said, "He who abides in me and in Him bears much fruit" (John 15:5). How do you abide in Him?

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:15-16 

How do we abide in love?

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandment and abide in His love... this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15: 10, 12

 This generation has relegated love to either a soppy, cotton-candy emotion, or a sexually charged drive when nothing could be further from the truth. The love that God defines in His Word is a determined, long term commitment despite the odds, difficulties and hurts; it is sacrifice of self for the benefit of others; it is a power that changed the world. In the beautiful prose and rhythm of the New King James Version, this is how it is defined:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Cor 13: 4-8a 

In a situation where you want to have a burst of anger and say something rude, love is the decision to speak kindly instead. Every time you feel selfish but you choose to put a colleagues needs above your own, that's love. If you are consistently making these sorts of decisions, you're abiding in love. And love has a way of making good results in any situation.

In terms of stewardship, if you choose to operate with love (the way/strategy), because of love (motivation, drive), and through Love (God's, not ours because ours doesn't last!), you will bear much fruit, fruit that will remain.

Here's to a abundantly fruitful harvest in the times to come!

For more on this topic, check out our MixCloud playlist by searching for 'covenantyouth'.

REPORT ALERT - Part 1: Accountability

The Bible makes clear that we are all stewards of the gifts God has given to us, and that the Master is returning one day (Matt 24; 25). On that day, we will be called to report the earnings and losses, the ways we have spent the time, resource and skills He has given to us.

This isn't to say that we should live each day under burden and stress; instead we need to understand that God is a good boss and work WITH Him. His Word details principles that if we would take up will help us to stay accountable and achieve all that God has for us.

Accountability is the noun of 'accountable'. The definition of "accountable" according to the Cambridge English Dictionary is:

"someone who is completely responsible for what they do and must be able to give a satisfactory reason for it."

Who defines what is a 'satisfactory reason'? The very definition implies that there is an authority to whom an accountable person must answer to, and whose demands and questions they must satisfy. Employees are accountable to their bosses; children are accountable to their parents; spouses are accountable to each other but all of us are ultimately accountable to God.

To be able to stay accountable, you need to understand the following concepts:

Responsibility & Purpose
You will be judged on the responsibilities and purposes God has given to YOU (see Matt 25) - not what He's given others, you. Take ownership of them. See the other post on Responsibilities and Purpose

Expectations
You can only get good marks in an assessment if you understand the teacher’s expectations and requirements. Find out God’s expectations with His Word.

Prioritise with God’s priorities

Doing first things first will set you up for the others. Ask God for His wisdom and insight.

Obedience rather than results

This world is performance based but in serving God, there is no way that we understand and see everything God sees. How do you measure your performance when you don’t know all the variables? God requires our obedience first and foremost (1 Sam 15:22). Obedience will ensure that the results He wants will be achieved.

Relationship
Your Master is strict but good, and altogether wonderful. Your relationship with the Master determines your sense of accountability, and how well you will carry out His work.

Tenacity
Keep at your current instructions until you receive new instructions.

Stewardship of the Stuff of Life

NB. This article (images and text) is © Copyright Melissa Yong - All rights reserved - Ways of the Mustard Seed. You may cite or reference this article or publish translated versions of this article on non-English language blogs provided you acknowledge Ways of the Mustard Seed as the original source.

There are three main areas of purpose in our lives, and each purpose contains a set of responsibilities.

Areas of Purpose

General: God's purpose for everyone regardless of personality, skill set, circumstance or season. 

This includes but is not limited to:

• Knowing God personally and intimately (Psa 27:8; Jer 9:24; Jer 31:34)
• Salvation for all (Matt 28:19; John 3:16; 2 Pet 3:9)
• Living a holy life that testifies of His power and reality (Mark 16: 17-18; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 2:11-12) 
• Loving one another as Christ loved us (John 15:12-14; 1 John 4)
• Walking in the Spirit to combat the ways of the flesh (Rom 8:1-11; Gal 5:16-17)

Personal: the God-ordained purpose for the combination of personality, skills and passions you have

This may seem obvious but for some reason we don't think of our God-given abilities and passions as being an area of purpose and responsibility. 

Do you love to bake? Bake to give away to the needy, to encourage, to open doors to meaningful relationships and discussions. Do you love to write? Write about your passion and mobilise, inform, teach, reveal to honour God. Is your skill building rapport and creating networks of relationships? Find the disenfranchised, the lonely, the rejected and create around them a loving circle of friends that can become the family they need. What are you best at doing? People all around you need what you do best. 

God has given you that particular set of gifts, that particular personality for a reason. Use it to reach out with God's love to the people He died to save and life will take on a shine that lasts through storm and fire.

Seasonal: every season of our lives has a purpose that feeds into future seasons

Student? Your purpose here is to learn and be trained with skills and knowledge that you'll need one day. Working and single? There are relationships to hone, experiences to gather, knowledge to glean from others, stuff to achieve while you have some maturity and an abundance of time, health and energy (comparatively) that is unmatched compared to most of the rest of your life. 

Married with kids? You have future Great Ones under your tutelage; work with your spouse as a tight team to hone their character, equip them with skills and understanding, be role models of the kind of people you want them to be. It won't be that long till they don't need you. Married without kids? Your marriage has an incredible purpose; God put you together because you need one another, and because you are more effective together in the work that God has called you to. You are not defined by what you do or do not have. Run diligently in the track God marked out for you and you will find beautiful, powerful things that He has prepared that are better than what you ever dreamed.

Retired? Now's not the time to make it all about you or think that you've become useless. This could be the most fruitful time of your life as you focus on a marriage of your accumulated connections, passion, experience and skill to do what you love best; use this time to impart history, experience, knowledge, skills to the next generation. They need you more than they know; and you need them more than you think.

God is a skilful Writer. There is nothing in anyone's life story that is worthless.

Prioritising It All

Usually, people have responsibilities that are a mixture of the above major areas of purpose.
But things can be streamlined if you have a tool to prioritise the responsibilities.

General + Seasonal= Duty

If your tasks fall within an area where it touches on the General Purposes of God for you and is typical of the season you are in but is missing your passion, these are tasks of Duty. They are good things to do; you just don't really love doing it.
Examples: arranging your day around school drop-off, pick up times; washing the bed linen too many times a day because of a sick loved one you are caring for.

How do we deal with these? These are tasks that you want to get out of the way quickly so that you can focus on what truly matters most. Find ways to deal with them quickly and efficiently, and/or find ways to inject your passion, your special touch into it so that it is less burdensome.

General + Personal = Surrender

These tasks embody both God's heart and your passion. They will be tasks in your life that you wish you could do/ step into but just don't have the time, money or inspiration even though it's what you'd gladly spend all day doing. Or it may be a dream that you hold dear but seems far away.

Examples: waiting to find Mr/Mrs Right; that book you've had half written for years; that music you've written and/or recorded but don't know what to do next with; those pictures, paintings you've made that friends and family have oohed and ahed over but don't seem to have an avenue to go; that awesome business you've dreamed about building; that trip you are waiting to go on but never seems to be the right time for.

Often, there is not much you can do about tasks in this area. For these, it is their time of incubation. Bathe these dreams and hopes in persistent prayer and thanksgiving, waiting before God for the green light, the open door, the command to 'go!'. When He speaks, obey. If He hasn't, continue to wait and surrender it daily. God is preparing the paths and doors for you in ways you cannot see.

Seasonal + Person = Chaff (Rubbish)

These tasks may be specific to your season, and you may enjoy it but if it does not have God's heart and purpose for the world in it, it's not worth your time. They are distractions that will eat up your time, effort, energy from the things that you should be focusing on and will lead to frustration. Discard them or refocus it so that God's purpose

Examples: You love to sing so you've been learning to sing all sorts of songs, and performing at some friends' functions. It makes you feel great but it's really all about you. OR you love playing computer games; it's great to connect with friends online and you love the games but after the late hours, you make yourself frustrated because you can't keep deadlines and aren't sleeping as much as you would like. OR you are lonely after dinner and watch hours of entertainment or catching up on the latest season of a show. You don't get much else done but at least you don't feel as lonely.

An example of re-focusing might be re-evaluating why you love to sing. Is the feel-good aspect the distraction or is it the wrong season? If you are able to surrender your own need for applause and develop the self-discipline to allow wise counsel to guide you, use it only to honour God and bless others, then you have refocused this area. If you cannot genuinely honour God or serve others in a way that points them to Him through this area, then it must be discarded.

Sometimes, such areas as ones that once it's clear where God fits in it, needs to be put into the surrender bucket.

General + Seasonal + Personal = NOW

These are the tasks where the season, God's heart and your passions all align. These are what matters most right now. Make time and effort to focus on these and make the output as fruitful as possible through obedience to the Spirit of God (our own efforts and plans are piddling in comparison - work with Him to turn on the 'turbo').

The Next Steps

Do a brain dump of all your current responsibilities and tasks. Evaluate them for whether they have aspects of general, season and/or personal purpose then categorise them into Duty, Surrender, Chaff or NOW tasks.

For all the Chaff tasks, decide which ones to bin/remove from your calendar, and which need refocusing and surrendering to God.
For those in Surrender, bow your heart to God. Don't negotiate. Just lay them aside and make time to pray about it regularly. God will make the way for you, not you.

When you get to the Duty box, choose one task to find faster ways to do at a time and experiment until you are able to whiz through them so that they don't clutter up your day. If they are not something you can do faster, pray and ask God how to add a fresh view of His heart and your passion and personal purpose to it for a new perspective.

For those in the Now box, make these your priority and do them efficiently, do them well.

May God's hand be with you powerfully as you prayerfully consider your stewardship and seek to complete it all with Him, His way. There are great things yet to come!

To hear the audio sermon for this topic, check out our MixCloud play list and search for 'CovenantYouth'.

His Promises are to YOU

What promise of God have you left in a corner, afraid of failure? Unsure if it's for you?

Are you measuring possibility based on your ability or knowledge? God is not bound by the natural and physical laws of this world, nor by people's personality. Quit measuring possibility that way!

If you're unsure that God's promises are for you, I can assure you that God has no favourites. Yet, it is only those who ask and believe that will experience the kind of life and joy that God intended all His children to have.

If you want to know more about a promise, ask Him (Matt 7:7). Look into it. Find out what God is saying about this promise in regards to you - and you don't necessarily have to wait for someone knowledgeable to tell you the answer. Search God's word for yourself too. Become fully persuaded about it (Rom 4:19-21)!

The Almighty Creator is your Heavenly Daddy - why not ask Him directly and sincerely? He will always answer a sincere plea for understanding (James 1:5). In fact, He waits to be asked because He's been wanting to tell you (Jer 33:3)!

Your head may say "it's impossible" but down in the depths of your heart, perhaps there is a tug. Faith in its purest form is childlike, uncomplicated. It doesn't have to understand how or why - it just knows that it IS: that God would never promise something contrary to what He is willing to do, and that He can do exactly what He said He can do.

In all your searching, remember this:
1. All the promises of God are in Him 'yes', and in Him 'Amen' to the glory of God the Father. 2 Cor 1:20
You know what 'yes' means. 'Amen' is 'i sincerely mean what I have said'. If God says 'Amen' to ALL His promises, then there are no exceptions. If you were to ask, "Did you make this promise to me, too?" Then the answer is "Yes. AMEN." As far as He's concerned, if He promised it, He'll do it.

2. God will make sure that His Name is glorified. His character demands that He is faithful to His Word (Num 23:19): the 'yes' and 'amen' is "to the glory of God the Father." And He'll set things up so that only He can get the credit.

Just be aware that because He can see all the jigsaw parts of every life and you can't, His way of accomplishing it, and when may be different to yours:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts your thoughts."

His part is to get it done; your part is to believe that He will.

Stand on His promises

When you believe a chair can hold you, you sit in it; if you believe a table is strong and stable, you'll put heavy things on it without hesitation, you'll even stand on it.

You've read the promises of God, now you need to stand on it. No more testing with the toes because that will never prove that your faith was well placed, nor the fullness of joy God has prepared for you. Put your WHOLE WEIGHT on God and you'll find that He is stronger than you ever dared to believe.

Holiness and Love: are they mutually exclusive?

Holiness at its very foundational concept is the abhorrence of sin, hating even the smell and the slightest sign of it; it is the separation of oneself from such and holding ourselves apart from it with the fear of God, and all humility.

God is holy. Previous generations have worked hard to dispel the hideous lie that this holiness equates to God being like unmerciful schoolmaster waiting to punish us. Yet in so doing, things have swung too far and our generation has somehow lost the understanding that God is an exacting judge of fearsome majesty and righteousness who will not budge from His standards one iota. And yet again, it would be a mistake to stop there: God is not uni-dimensional. He is not love or holy; He is both.

He nudges our hearts and pulls on our conscience to turn us from sin; if we reject that, He may change circumstances to wake us up and give us time and opportunity to turn and repent. However, if we refuse and insist on our own way, there will come a day when we must give account for all our works, thoughts and attitudes. If there is no such day, God would not be a just judge. Families of victims of crime cry for justice. God hears them and will make sure there is justice - but He has no favourites. The same standards apply to all, including the very ones who cry for justice.

On that day, we will realise that we had no excuse; we were given opportunities, He was good to warn us time and again - but we were blind or wilfully rejected those opportunities. Then each must pay for their own folly, each idle word, each wayward thought.

However, we are not at that day yet - unless your name has been called (how will you know when your name will be called?). Today there is still time to do something about those things that will visit us with regret and shame: we can call on God's love and mercy.

See, God is so loving and merciful that He is willing to overlook our sin if we are willing to own up, ask for forgiveness and commit to turning 180 degrees away from that sin: He will wipe the books and pronounce us completely blameless. He doesn't stop there either - He will pour out His love to help us up and enable us to overcome and stick to that commitment. It won't be easy but it will be more than possible with Him. That's the magnanimous nature our loving, holy God whose exacting nature demands retribution and judgement for sin and yet provides a way to waive judgement if we are willing take it. However, unlike our family or friends, He can hear our thoughts and see the depths of your heart; He knows the difference between a sincere apology and a I'll-just-say-this-now-but-do-my-own-thing-later lip service. Each will get their reward.

God's standards have been made clear in His Word. They are unyielding both for those who say they believe in Him, and those who don't. His love is just as unyielding for all. Jesus Christ was tortured, suffered and died a gruesome death on the cross on your behalf - that is the kind of death our sins make us worthy of but God knew that we could not both pay the price for our sin and live again - so He paid it first and in His resurrection provided the power to live free from the pulled-by-the-ring-in-the-nose regime of sin. The offer of His sacrifice on your behalf still stands today, 2 millennia later if you will accept it.

So take yourself up on the provision He has made in His love to get your books wiped clean - And it shall come that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Joel 2:32);  and again "in Him [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace" (Eph 1:7).

If you believe this good news and don't know how to pray, it is as simple as talking because prayer is simply talking to God. Here is an example of a prayer you can follow if you don't know what to say:

Dear Father in Heaven,
I have done lots of things that are wrong, and that you probably hate. I have __[describe your sins]___. I understand that you are an exacting judge but that you are merciful too. Will you have mercy on me? I've tried and failed to make up for it. Please forgive me and wipe my slate clean. I don't know how to go from here but I ask for your help to live right according to your standards. Show me what I need to do and I'll do it with all my heart - but I you need to help me. Here I am. Make me clean, God and put in me a new heart!
I ask all this in the Name of Jesus Christ who died to make forgiveness possible for me,
Amen.

Not Knowing What to Do

I may be lost and not know what to do - but why should it be reason for sorrow of heart? We have never known what to do on our own. And even if we think we know, we find that we still have much to learn. So isn't it normal - expected - to feel uncertain about our future and next steps?

Haven't we always needed the hand of our tender Heavenly Father to know the way, to reveal each step as they come? Any correct turn we make goes back to a nudge of His hand, a voice in our ears. Therefore, in the misty paths of today, we can turn to the One who holds our hand and let Him lead the way. He is not one to abandon us in the middle of the road without instruction. If there is no instruction yet, it means we still have a standing order that has not yet expired.

Even today, there is instruction, there is light, there is purpose - but it is not on the road, in those we meet, or in ourselves. So we do not need to feel perplexed when we look at the road ahead and feel that it seems unfathomable. That instruction, light and purpose is in our Guide and Heavenly Father. 

He knows the best way there, and all the tricks required to traversing the path we trod because He has already gone before us to prepare it. He knows our failings, therefore He knows how to make the journey possible for us. Sometimes, He leaves certain obstacles that we cannot overcome - but they are there because they are necessary and yet, He will be with us.

So today, if you do not know, take heart. The answer is in the One who has got you here in the first place. Look to Him again and trust Him to lead you like a good hiking guide. With Him, you will complete your own epic journey on these great and narrow paths of life.

Stepping into your Destiny

If you are not familiar with the story of Esther, you can read it here.

Why did Esther go to the King against the law?
Was it because Mordecai told her to? It began as that - but there was more at stake than her relationship with Mordecai, close as it was.

Was it because she needed to save her people? Yes, and yet no; she had one thing stopping her: the fear of death. Straight after Mordecai calls on her to plead with the King for the future of her people, she protests that this action carried with it the high probability of death:

All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or women, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.

In other words, she was afraid to die - and this is entirely natural. Mordecai's reply was two-pronged (in Melissa's paraphrase):

1. If you are afraid of death, keeping silent will only prolong it; it will not deliver you.
2. What if...this is your destiny?
   What if you have been strategically placed?
   Divinely positioned?
   What if...your beauty was not given you for yourself but because it would position you to be Queen?
   What if...your queenship was not given to you for your beauty, but because you have a job to do "at such a time as this" (Esther  4:14)?

So why did Queen Esther step out to face death? The driving motivation would eventually be the love for her people, but she was only able to do so after sacrificing her own relative safety. She walked out of her safe place with the goal of saving her people because she had chosen to step into her destiny - for good or for ill:

...and if I perish, I perish. (Esther 4:16)

For every person stepping into their destiny, it generally means facing your greatest fear, and taking a deep breath to step through the fear instead of backing away. Once that occurs, it becomes apparent that although the danger may be real, the lie behind the fear is actually trumped up, and that the grace available to all who choose to accept their God-given destiny is greater than the fear.

That same grace will help us overcome our fear, and then carve a path of safety through any danger. If we will keep to the path with wisdom and dependence on God to show us the way, we will not only accomplish our mission but we will fulfil our greatest passion: for God does not position without the passion.

Notice that after Esther took the plunge, she had work to do. Her work was not over when she faced the fear and acted despite it - in fact, it had only begun. So she was cautious and wise, and expended her energies in the intercession she had been born to perform. Now that the fear had been dealt with, she could do so effectively without fear for herself.

I would also say that she worked within that path of safety - that is why she was careful and did not put her real request out until the time was ripe. So, because she operated within that wisdom available to her through that special grace, the doors were open and she had great favour. The King was willing to give her up to half his Kingdom if that was her request. The beginning of Esther tells us that his kingdom at the time stretched from India to Ethiopia - this was no small offer! It is evidence of an enormous store of grace available to this woman who had chosen to step into her destiny.

Now after the inspirational stuff, here's some soul-food to chew on:
1. Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matt 16:24)
Esther could have tried to save her life by not going to the King in the first place. However, in the end, she would have lost it with much grief. Instead, she chose to throw away her life for a greater cause - and by doing that saved it. Consider the parallels in our lives, and the deeper meanings Jesus is alluding to. You'll only truly find LIFE when we let go of the status quo and let God take the reins: we were not born for the status quo. Each of us were made for the extraordinary.

2. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. John 15:12
Every God-given destiny has at its heart the love of God so great that He lay down His life to give it to others. His command to us is to display this same level of love to others.
How can this be done if you want to 'keep' your life?

3. If you are not yet on your path of passion, you are being positioned. 
Think of Moses, of Joshua who both had a dream but could not pursue it till their character had been honed and sculpted. Then, when the time came, it required a leap of faith right through their greatest fear. And once they landed on the other side of that fear, they found an unlimited source of strength, wisdom, power to do the very thing they had been prepared for all those years. If you are thinking that you have never faced the kind of fear and favour I am talking about, it's because you're still being positioned.

4. There are others with the same passion and dream; we all have different roles in fulfilling it.
Not all of us will live to see our dream fulfilled. Consider the many scientists dreaming of a certain possibility but 'only' finding the one important principle that made it possible in future generations (I can't think of a great example but if you know one, put it in the comment below!).
Moses led the great exodus out of Egypt and thought that he would also take them right into the Promised Land - but it would not be so because Joshua would end up doing this. Joshua, however, could not have done so without the training and experience under Moses.

You may or may not see the fulfilment of your dream - but don't take this to be a negative thought. If we make our dream The Point of Living, you will be severely disappointed. You will end up feeling betrayed. The dream will continue to drive you, and yet it will seem a most hopeless lunacy that both breaks your heart and makes you get up to keep going. Some people can't take that. Why this happens is because of this: behind every great, noble dream is the One who dreamed it first, and is much more passionate about it happening than you are. Life has to be about this One, ie God. You are sharing that passion with Him because He wanted to share it with YOU. So let Him take the reins.

Because most great dreams are much bigger than an individual, it is rare that anyone is ever really alone in their great dream; there is usually someone somewhere who has a similar one and will have a part to play in fulfilling it with you. Whatever yours is, do it with your utmost diligence because the success of those coming after you will depend on yours.

5. Focus on being a reliable, good quality instrument through which God can do all that He needs to.
This is important no matter which side of your greatest fear you are standing on. My brother has several guitars. One of them is a small travel guitar that is never in tune, even 5 minutes after you have tuned it: it rapidly becomes untuned. It's unreliable. Consequently, my brother will rarely choose to take that guitar with him on a trip, even though that's what he bought it for.

Paul says in Rom 6:13:

Do not present your members [of the body] as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

In other words, don't go using your physical faculties to commit sin; instead, make them available to God to do acts of righteousness. We don't want a hammer which, after each blow, comes loose and threatens to fly off the handle - we love a tool that is able to do its job well.
We can be reliable tools in God's hands, or we can be unprepared, unreliable, difficult to use. What makes us unreliable? Unbelief, pride, fear, jealousy - just a few of many things that can get in the way.

God wants to be able to nudge you and (for example) say, 'That person over there is being rude to you but what they really need is encouragement and kind words. Do that for me.' If we are prepared and reliable, we are swift to hear this, to let go of any indignation or fear, swift to stand to attention and say, 'OK God, what do you want me to say?' And then deliver it exactly the way you heard it. When you deliver it that way, without embellishing it with anything of your own, or removing anything, you are being a reliable instrument delivering God's message to that person.

How do we become reliable? That's really a topic for another post but consider these quick points:

• become as proficient as you can in the things you can do.
  Every gift is from God and was given so that it can be a gift to someone else. Whether this means a well baked cake, an excellent financial analysis or being a reliable babysitter, hone it, and do it as unto the Lord and not as a token job (Colossians 3:23-24), and be ready and willing to do these things in season and out of season - you never know when God may call upon you to be His hands and feet, His mouthpiece, His comfort, His ever-present help in time of trouble.
• cultivate the ability to hear God's voice. All God's sheep know His voice whether they think they do or not (John 10:27) Many of us just need practice tuning in to the right station. The best way to start is to study and memorise the Bible. God's character and way of thinking is revealed in it. As you study it, you will get to know who He is, and what He sounds like and therefore be able to discern whether the thoughts you get are from Him or not. God is usually speaking to us - it's whether we receive it or not.
• DO God's Word.
  You need to apply the lessons, concepts and principles revealed in the Bible. Adopt the way God thinks of things, the way He does things, and ask Him to help you do this. As you allow God to shape you through His Word, it will transform you to become more and more like Him. You will have more patience, more strength to resist temptation, more gracious etc. This will help you to be a more reliable instrument in His hands to help those waiting for Him.

God has a good plan for your future, and it involves a destiny that includes your greatest passions, and your gifts. He is even now positioning you - so make the most of every opportunity. If you have already taken the plunge, make sure that you follow the path carved out for you by His grace by letting Him show you where it is - then the doors will be opened for you and you can be like Queen Esther who was faithful in the calling she had accepted, and prospered in it.