Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 18 July 2021, by Captain Michael Ramsay
These stories (Esther, Terah, Barak, and many like them) have impacted my theology greatly over the years. I think this is one of the many keys to comprehending how God works in our world.
These passages and stories of which they are a part really answer the question, “What do I do when God is calling me to do something?” “What do I do when the Lord has put someone on my heart?” and to some extent, in some ways, “What happens if I don’t do what God asks me to do?” “Can God be thwarted?”
He can’t. Luke Chapter 19:40: “I tell you…if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Luke 19 has the very good news that if it is the time that God wants something done, He will do it. God loves us and He will reach out to us to help us in our distress. The question for us today is what happens if God wants to use us to reach out to others in distress and we refuse? The short answer is that God will do it anyway. In the stories of Barak and of Terah we see that because they didn’t follow what God had said or because they didn’t finish the journey, God raised up other people to do it.
Terah was the father of Abram. In Genesis 11 it mentions that after God had sent people away from Babel, he was headed to Canaan. Terah stopped before he ever saw the Promised Land so Terah never did get to see the Promised Land. God did not give up on Terah’s family though. God called Terah’s son who continued the journey to the Promised Land and who’s descendants eventually received this land promised to them hundreds of years before they were born. God called His people to the Promised Land and even though Terah stopped and didn’t make it there, God didn’t stop and his decedents still inherited the land.
Barak was a military commander serving God under Deborah, God’s chosen leader of Israel and Ephraim. Judges 4, God commanded Barak to lead his people into battle but Barak refused unless his leader Deborah accompanied him. God still rescued Israel but because Barak did not do as he was instructed, God gave the victory and the Glory to another – Jael became the ‘most blessed of women’; as she was the one who ended forever the threat of this particular enemy.
I think these stories and ones like them in the Bible are what Mordecai is drawing on in the book of Esther when he says, Esther 4:14, 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?”
We know the story of Esther, right? If not I encourage you to read it this afternoon. It will almost certainly take you less than an hour to read the whole thing. It is a short story but a very interesting one. In short – Israelites are living in the Persian Empire, the ruler of Persia is convinced to kill all the Jews (completely unaware that his wife – or one of them anyway – is a Jew). There is a whole bunch of intrigue as God delivers His people from destruction. One of the keys to the whole story, I think, is ESTHER 4:14 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?”
I think this is a key to our lives today: if we remain silent when the world is in crisis, relief and deliverance will come through someone else, but we won’t be a part of it.
There are many times in my life when I am so thankful God has been able to use us to help people or save people from various things. My heart is truly grateful. I would honestly hate – probably more than anything else – to be passed over because of my refusal to serve God and miss out on the blessing that comes from serving others.
I truly believe that the Covid-19 pandemic was one such opportunity for which the Lord had raised up The Salvation Army and for which He called those of us whom He called here.
In our community, The Salvation Army could have done many things during this pandemic instead of being used by God to care for people. We could have done many things other than be used by God to unite disparate groups in a single purpose – caring for others during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Army here, and many besides, who have served God and the community throughout the pandemic could have instead remained silent. In which case, God would have taken care of the needs of the people in serious need but we would have missed out on being used by God to do just that – and I personally would hate that more than almost anything else.
My encouragement today is this: to everyone who has been following God’s leading through this pandemic and beyond (and please know that GOD may be leading you in very different ways than even the person sitting next to you today!) in whatever direction He has been leading you, look around and see what Good He is using you to do in the lives of others, yourself, this community and the Kingdom of God.
I also encourage us in this, like Samuel was encouraged by the High Priest Eli in Samuel 3:9: if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” For as Mordecai says in Esther 4:14, indeed he may have put you in your position for such a time as this
Let us pray.
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