Mordecai told Esther that there was no way she could know for sure that she (a Jewish young lady) had become queen of the Persian Empire so that she could, by her actions on just one day of her life, change the history of the nation. He simply said, “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)? He understood that if she refused to do the right thing, God would use someone else in some other way to accomplish His purposes. Have you ever thought about how history would have been changed if those who knew God failed to do right? Consider the following.
What if Noah had refused to build the ark? What if he had begun the work and then just quit because what God expected of him was just too much? What if he had not obeyed God’s instructions and designed the ark the way Noah thought was best?
What if Abraham had decided not to leave Ur? What if he, having been told by God to leave Ur, just kept silent and had stayed in Ur? What if he had thought the journey to an unknown land was just long and dangerous and had stopped before arriving in Canaan? What if he had departed from Ur and then decide he knew of a better route and a better destination for his journey?
What if Joseph had taken the path of vengeance on his brothers when they came to Egypt? What if he had decided that he would just ignore them, send them away and spend the rest of his life as one of the great rulers of Egypt? What if he had failed to save the children of Israel and had not brought them into Egypt?
What if David, having heard the challenges from Goliath, had responded as every other man in Israel? What if he had not stepped out of his comfort zone, ignoring the mockery of his peers and simply returned to the safety of his father’s house? What if he had not led the army of Israel to defeat the Philistines on that day?
What if…? What if…? What if…? Go through the rest of the Bible and see how the actions of one individual changed the lives of those around them. Then, take time to think about who you are and what is happening in your life. What if you, having been given a “Samuel” did not lend him back to the Lord? What if you, as a member of the church, refused to teach our children in their classes? You do not know who you are impacting; what if you thought it demanded too much of you? Make the application. What if you failed to give your all as a church leader? What if you made no effort to reach out and impact the lives of others? What if…? What if…? What if…?