Yesterday we published an article by Marti Fischer titled “For Such A Time As This…” It’s the pace-setting article for our study of Esther and our focus on the importance of our MemberPartners. If you haven’t read it we are publishing it again in today’s Catch and if you’ve already read it I encourage you to read it again. I then would encourage you to spend some time with the questions following the article which should take you through the weekend. These are well thought out questions that will help you drive the important points deeper into your heart. I also you to write down your answers. You always remember so much more when you write things down. Think of it as a spiritual journal. – JF
For Such a Time as This…
by Marti Fischer
There’s a moment in Scripture — tucked into the Book of Esther — that has echoed through generations of God’s people. Mordecai’s words to Esther cut through her fear and hesitation:
“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” – Esther 4:14
That line wasn’t meant to comfort. It was meant to awaken.
Esther was safe — for a moment — hidden in the palace, removed from her people’s suffering. But comfort is deceptive. It seduces us into silence. It whispers that we can sit this one out, that someone else will step up, and that instead of being “in the world but not of it,” we hide from the very people God calls us to reach.
We are not called to be comfortable. We are called to presence, to proximity, to purpose.
Like the Jews in Persia, we too are living in exile of sorts. Not geographic, but spiritual. We live as residents in a world we are of, though we try not to be in. Many early Jews chose to remain in the Persian Empire even after the exile lifted. They had built lives, homes, and communities. They worked, traded, raised families, and influenced their neighborhoods. They learned to live faithfully and fruitfully in a foreign land — not by retreating, but by integrating without compromising.
This is the tension of the Christian life. The same one Jesus spoke of when He prayed, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:15-18)
But somewhere along the way, many of us took a different path. We retreated and built safe bubbles, isolating ourselves in a Christian subculture. Fearing persecution, rejection, and discomfort, we created an environment where we wouldn’t have to face it or feel it. In doing so, however, we abandoned our posts. We stopped asking: What if I’m here — for this moment — for such a time as this?
And let’s be honest: fear, comfort, and limiting beliefs are all thieves. Thieves of impact. Thieves of purpose. Thieves of time.
When we avoid the world, we miss out on why we were sent into it.
Jesus never shied away from culture; He stepped right into its heart. He touched lepers, dined with outcasts, and sat at the tables of those considered unworthy. He walked through tension, not around it. And He calls us to follow Him — not just in belief, but in action.
Esther had a choice. She could stay silent and safe or step forward and risk everything — not just once but every day after. That’s the kind of courage we need today.
“To live for such a time as this” isn’t a one-time heroic act; it’s a way of life.
It involves staying alert, asking tough questions, and showing up when it’s inconvenient. It requires crossing boundaries, embracing complexity, loving when it costs, and risking reputation or comfort for the sake of another.
It means viewing this fractured, fearful, magnificent, broken world, not as something to escape, but as a field ready for love, one person at a time.
We live in a culture full of pain, confusion, and conflict. And still, God has placed us here. Now. Not to dominate. Not to disappear. But to dwell with. To walk closely enough with people that we recognize what’s needed and provide it — not from a distance, but with hands that serve and hearts that break.
This is how Jesus lived. This is how we are called to live.
So I ask you: What would change if you began to see each day as part of your “such a time as this”?
Don’t wait for the right moment. This is it. Don’t waste time hiding in safety. Step out into grace. Don’t let fear silence your voice. You were made for this moment.
Let’s stop waiting to be called and realize—we already are.
*****
For Such a Time as This: Prayer & Reflection Guide
Scripture Focus
“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
—Esther 4:14
“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
—John 17:15 –18
Reflection Questions
- Where are you “positioned” right now?
Consider your relationships, workplace, neighborhood, community, or online presence.
What spaces has God placed you in that might be part of your “such a time as this”? - What does comfort look like in your life?
Are there places where comfort has led to silence, fear, or retreat? - What fears hold you back from deeper engagement with the world around you?
Are you afraid of rejection, being misunderstood, or stepping into cultural tension? - How can you “integrate without compromising”?
What does it look like for you to live faithfully within the world rather than separated from it? - Who in your life needs your presence, not your opinion?
Who might God be inviting you to walk alongside—not to fix, but to love?
Guided Prayer
Lord, awaken me.
I confess I’ve chosen comfort when You were calling me to courage.
I’ve retreated when You asked me to remain.
I don’t want to miss the reason I’m here—for such a time as this.
Open my eyes to the places You’ve already placed me.
Give me the heart of Jesus—to move toward people, not away.
Give me the boldness of Esther,
The discernment of Mordecai,
And the compassion of Christ.
Teach me to live fully in the world—
Not diluted by it,
But deeply present in it.
Make me available, interruptible, and willing to be used.
For Your glory. For the good of others.
For such a time as this.
Amen.
Take Action: Step Into the Moment
This week, take one concrete step that aligns with your “such a time as this.” Choose from one of the following, or create your own:
- Reach out to someone different from you. Invite a conversation. Ask questions. Listen more than you speak.
- Show up in a space where you’ve been hesitant—whether it’s a community meeting, a workplace lunch, or an online space you’ve avoided.
- Offer support to someone walking through difficulty. Don’t wait for the “right words”—your presence is enough.
- Practice courage by naming and challenging a fear or limiting belief that’s kept you small.
- Pray daily this week: “Lord, show me where I am needed today, and give me the courage to step in.”
Closing Reflection
You don’t have to be a queen to change history.
You don’t need a platform, a title, or the perfect plan.
You just need to be willing to say, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”
John Fischer The Catch 
For such a time as then… a lesson for us today.
In November 1982, a 10-year old girl from Maine, Samantha Smith, wrote to the new leader of the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov, asking if he intended to start a war. Her letter was sent at a time of considerable tension and acrimony during the Cold War between the US and USSR:
Dear Mr. Andropov,
“My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren’t please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.”
Sincerely,
Samantha Smith
~
In April 1983 Smith received this personal reply from Andropov:
Dear Samantha,
“I received your letter, which is like many others that have reached me recently from your country and from other countries around the world.
It seems to me – I can tell by your letter – that you are a courageous and honest girl, resembling Becky, the friend of Tom Sawyer, in the famous book of your compatriot Mark Twain. This book is well known and loved in our country by all boys and girls.
You write that you are anxious about whether there will be a nuclear war between our two countries. And you ask are we doing anything so that war will not break out. Your question is the most important of those that every thinking man can pose. I will reply to you seriously and honestly.
Yes, Samantha, we in the Soviet Union are trying to do everything so that there will not be war on Earth. This is what every Soviet man wants. This is what the great founder of our state, Vladimir Lenin, taught us.
Soviet people well know what a terrible thing war is. Forty-two years ago Nazi Germany, which strove for supremacy over the whole world, attacked our country, burned and destroyed many thousands of our towns and villages, killed millions of Soviet men, women and children.
In that war, which ended with our victory, we were in an alliance with the United States. Together we fought for the liberation of many people from the Nazi invaders. I hope that you know about this from your history lessons in school. And today we want very much to live in peace, to trade and cooperate with all our neighbours on this earth — with those far away and those near by. And certainly with such a great country as the United States of America.
In America and in our country there are nuclear weapons: terrible weapons that can kill millions of people in an instant. But we do not want them to be ever used. That’s precisely why the Soviet Union solemnly declared throughout the entire world that never — never — will it use nuclear weapons first against any country. In general, we propose to discontinue further production of them and to proceed to the abolition of all the stockpiles on Earth.
It seems to me that this is a sufficient answer to your second question: ‘Why do you want to wage war against the whole world or at least the United States?’ We want nothing of the kind. No one in our country – neither workers, peasants, writers nor doctors, neither grown-ups nor children, nor members of the government – want either a big or a little war.
We want peace. There is something that we are occupied with: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books and flying into space. We want peace for ourselves and for all peoples of the planet. For our children and for you, Samantha.
I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country, the best time being this summer. You will find out about our country, meet with your contemporaries, visit an international children’s camp called Artek on the sea. And see for yourself that in the Soviet Union, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.
Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.”
Yuri Andropov
~
Samantha Smith was invited to visit the Soviet Union and became known as the world’s youngest ambassador.
She died three years later in 1985 at the age of 13 in an airplane crash.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist four years after her death.
Did Samantha’s letter help avert a nuclear war? We might never know.
We should note, however, that neither her political affiliation (if any) nor any of the propaganda churned out by either of the world superpowers is relevant here.
With what little time she had on our planet, this 10-year old was selected for – and followed through on – such a time as then for when Samantha Smith was needed.
Do we have the resolve to follow Samantha’s (or Esther’s) example?
Shalom, Peace…
One thing I am always pleasantly amazed at, how does that gentleman near Seattle always find such interesting examples. But I digress…
In response to such a time as this…
I am going to write to the Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith. She has been doing what few dare to do, and it is questioned by many.
She has chosen to restructure and reorganize all facets of government. At least that each facet navel gazes and looks at what needs to be eradicated and what needs to be added. We all know how any large enterprises, especially government, all prefer to stick with the ‘devil they know’.
Historically all change comes when it reaches the tipping point of over 50% and gathers momentum to 100%. If change is forced on to a nation or a people it generally suffers all kinds of backlash.
so I will let her know that I appreciate what she is doing for this province both internally and externally. The latter is her efforts to stop our Federal Government from shutting down the oil industry prematurely. Certainly oil will give way to some other source of energy someday, but legislating that day is foolish. Oil presently drives Alberta and Saskatchewan’s economy so why put people out of work.
The church I go to has a goal to impact greater Edmonton with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a lot of seniors who meet regularly, eat together but do little else. So after a lot of prayer, have made it my mission to inspire all that senior experience and wisdom to creatively find ways to make that goal come true.
Obviously there are some things in place because 2 years in a row we had 150+- people baptized on a predetermined week end. This can be directly attributed to prayer and God answering affirmatively. So something is happening!!!
We get the sense that it is only the beginning. Two pastors from my church went to England, the United Kingdom, and met with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. These two are responsible for spear heading the Alpha program of evangelism. It is their contention that people are hungry for the gospel both young and old. They sense a big move of God. We at our Edmonton church sense the same thing. How will the Holy Spirit handle this Reformation/Billy Graham Crusades/Jesus Freak movement. I can hardly wait to see what He will do, until it happens back to the ‘Acts 2 Prayer Room” to be ready for God’s timing.