If you have been reading my blog for the past couple of weeks, you will know that I am in the middle of doing Beth Moore’s newest study on the life of Esther. It is a wonderful study that really challenges me to see God at work in the midst of my life, especially when I cannot trace His hand.
As a companion to this study, I am reading a book by Charles Swindoll that focuses on the life of Esther. The title of the book is Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity. In chapter 5, Swindoll writes about thinking and saying what’s right—regardless. Esther is a perfect example of this because when she realized that there was an enemy out there that was threatening her people; she had a choice to make. She could ignore the enemy and die along with the rest of the Jewish people or she could do what God placed her in the palace to do—at the risk of her life. As Swindoll develops this argument, he uses the story of David and Goliath as an illustration.
In 1 Samuel 17, we find the story of David, the shepherd-boy going out to the battlefield to take supplies to his brothers and finding the armies of Israel cowering in the face of the giant Philistine, Goliath. In addition, David’s oldest brother, Eliab, made fun of him for even coming to the battlefield. What in the world could a little runt like David do to help this situation? He accuses David of pride and basically tells him to go back to tending sheep because that is where he belongs.
Verse 29 gives us David’s response and this is the verse that has given me cause to pause this weekend. It says,
And David said, “……… Is there not a cause?”
“Is there not a cause?” David knew there was a cause and the cause was defending the name and reputation of the living God. David was ready, unlike his brothers and the rest of the army, to depend on God’s strength and fight for that cause. He knew that the Lord would go before him and bring victory even if it meant that he, David, had to go into harm’s way. He had been called by God to fight for this cause and fight he would.
Is there not a cause that you have been called to? Absolutely there is. When you accepted Jesus as the boss in your life, your Savior, you joined a cause much larger than yourself. Every Christian has been called to stand up for the name of Jesus in this world. For now, we live in a country where we can stand up for Jesus without fear of persecution, but that may not be true for long. In the coming days, I anticipate that Christians in America will experience more and more persecution for their faith. Are you ready? Do you believe in the cause of Christ enough to remain faithful? Have you asked the Lord to fill you with boldness? Are you actively sharing your faith now? If not, why? If you and I won’t share our faith when we are not being persecuted, what makes us think we will remain true to Christ when we are being persecuted?
Now is the time. Today is the day to begin asking the Lord to make us bold and strong in our faith. I want to hear Him one day say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Is there not a cause?
