I just now got back from my weekly Beth Moore Bible study with several close-knit girlfriends. We are studying Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman, and this lesson could not have come at a more vital time in my life, what with its emphasis on overcoming in the midst of personal and national crisis.

Tonight, we looked a lot at a particular Scripture passage. It’s the most often quoted verse in the book of Esther, and you can find it in Esther 4:14.

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Jews from elsewhere, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this and for this very occasion?” (Amplified).

Ah, for such a time as this. I love the sound of that phrase. But as Beth so aptly points out, that romantic ring of destiny often comes with a side order of deep turmoil that is going to take a heap of faith and heart-pounding risk to surmount. No wimpy destiny for Esther.

And there is no wimpy destiny designed for your life in Christ, either. You are certainly not forgotten. And if I understand what Beth was saying tonight, that destiny moment can come when you least expect it – and when you don’t think you are ready at all!

Can you guess why God would design your life that way? If you said that it’s the Lord’s way to build your faith, you guessed right.

God doesn’t do things according to our timetable. When God says we are ready for the next unfolding of His plan, then it’s time.

My prayer for you is the same one I pray for me: That we would be on the lookout for His next step for our lives, that we would quickly answer His call to step out in faith with a very affirmative “yes,” and that with His help each step of the way, we would always be vigilant to give Him the glory.

– Laura J. Bagby