Esther

Noelle and I are starting a new series or topic here on Step by Step. For the next two months we'll be talking about young people in the Bible. I tend to think of most people in the Bible as grown or even old people. You know the old guys with long white beards or the wise old lady. Yes, there are stories of adults, but there are also many stories of young people. Even teens! You probably already know that Mary the mother of Jesus was around 14 when He was born. (Noelle will be writing about Mary in a while) Well, in this new series we're going to talk about other "young people of the Bible".

I'll start with Esther...

Imagine being taken from your family to the king's palace. Imagine being told that you'd stay there for a year until the king called for you. Then, if he picked you, you'd become queen even if you didn't want to. That is what happened to Esther. You would think that having to leave your family and eventually become queen would be hard enough, but God asked more of Esther. God asked Esther to risk her life to save His people, her people. Haman, one of the king's nobles had a plot to kill all the Jews. That meant Esther and all God's people. Esther is asked to tell the king of Haman's evil plan, but to go to the king without being sent for is death. Anyone who comes before the king when he has not called for them will be killed. Esther does not let the fear of death stop her!

I am not going to tell Esther's whole story here. I hope you will be inspired to go read it for yourself. Esther is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Esther is loyal, brave, and God-fearing! She is not afraid to take a stand for God and His people. She is not afraid of death. We shouldn't be either! We may not be called to face death, but every day we are given at least one chance to stand up for God. We need to look for that chance and act on it! Do not back down. Do not lose heart. Act boldly for Christ as He did for you!