Did you know that God will never force you to do anything? It’s true. Of course, He will attempt to lead you, create circumstances to change your direction, but in the end what you do with your life, and how you live, is totally up to you. It’s called free will, and in His mercy, God built that into His plan.
Your life. Your choice. It’s as simple as that.
This reminds me of Esther.
After being forced into King Xerxi’s harem, her future looked pretty bleak. But then God moved on that wicked king’s heart and he chose Esther to be his new queen. A miracle! So the girl who would’ve been treated no better than a prostitute was made a wife. It seemed that she was on easy street, but unfortunately the king spent less and less time with her, and it seemed that she had fallen out of favor with him.
Now behind the scenes, the enemy of the Jews was plotting to destroy her people, and had gotten the king’s permission to do so. Everything Haman needed was in place, and he was eagerly waiting for the day when he could freely slaughter every Jewish man, woman and child.
Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, sent her a message, asking her to approach the king and beg for their lives. But in those days, no one, not even the queen, approached the king without being invited by him. Death would be carried out immediately. So Esther sent her uncle this reply, and hoped it would get her out of a possibly sticky situation. It didn’t. Her uncle responded.
“When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “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 4:12-14)
Esther had to choose.
You know, I’ve read this story many times, but I never really thought about this part of it. This thing that her uncle was asking her to do wasn’t something she HAD to do.
Of course, decades after the fact, we know what her choice brought about, but back then this was an incredibly scary deal for her. If she went to the king and he rejected her, she would die. If she did nothing, she would die.
Esther had to choose. Either become a part of God’s plan or stay on the sidelines. Either trust God with her future or give into fear. Either be a part of the solution or remain a part of the problem. God had set her up in a perfect position to save His people, but it all boiled down to a choice.
Her life. Her choice.
I think, sometimes, we Christian’s forget that God isn’t, and won’t, force us to do anything. He has a plan and a purpose for each of our lives. He has specific things for each of us to do in His kingdom, and He’s carefully crafted opportunities and situations that will bring that plan to fruition.
But it’s our choice.
He won’t force us. And yes, His plans will get done no matter if we are involved or not. Our choice to obey God’s will or not won’t change His plans, but it will change the direction of our lives. The question is, do we want to be a part of God’s plan, or do we want to do our own thing?
Ultimately it comes down to the choice we make as to whether or not we will be a part of that plan. Because in truth, Esther could have said “No.”