Nobody Else Like You

By David Dickson

Church Magazines

The Lord prepared Esther for her important work, and He’s doing the same for you.

Do something random right now. Anything at all! Flap your arms above your head, spin in a circle, or shout out some crazy words like, “I love banana bread!”

All done? Good. You’ve just accomplished something that’s never been done before. As strange as it sounds, whatever you just did—even if you just thought of something but didn’t do it—has never been done exactly that way in all of history. Not where you are, not at this precise time, and not by you.

This goofy little exercise highlights an important point: there’s nobody else exactly like you, nor in your exact same circumstances. Not even your siblings. In all the world, no one else has your precise combination of talents, abilities, friendships, family, spiritual gifts, and personal perspectives.

Like Esther from the Old Testament, you are uniquely qualified during “such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) to have a big impact for good in the lives of everyone you know.

You’ve got important things to do!

From Orphan to Royalty

As you study the Old Testament this month as part of Come, Follow Me, you will learn about a remarkable young Jewish woman named Esther. At some point in her young life, Esther was orphaned and raised by an extended family member, Mordecai. She grew up in a time when the Jews had been taken captive by a foreign nation.

As an orphaned girl living in a strange land, she most likely never would have guessed that someday she would become a queen. But that’s exactly what happened (see Esther 2). She was selected as a bride of the king, Ahasuerus.

But one day she was faced with a terrible challenge: Esther’s people, the Jews, were in sudden danger of being exterminated. Her husband, the king, after listening to the counsel of his advisers, passed a decree that every Jew in the city would be killed on a specific date that he named.

Now, there were many people living in the city. There were also many Jews living in the city. But there was only one Queen Esther. And she was the only person who could do anything to stop this disaster.

Just like Queen Esther, there’s only one you. You’re the only one who can do the things you can do—things the Lord needs you to do. Things that can lead to the salvation of many people.

Answers to Prayers

Thank goodness there’s not much chance that you’ll have to deal with something as dangerous and scary as what Esther faced. But that doesn’t mean that your purpose in life is any less important.

Just like Esther, you’ve been guided and prepared to be who you are now. And that preparation will continue as you follow Jesus Christ. You can be the answer to many people’s daily prayers.

Of course, even with all your talents and abilities, it’s always best to ask for spiritual help along the way like Esther did.

Faith, Conviction, and You

Esther knew she had to try and save her people. She also knew she needed the added faith and support of her people as she sought help from God. “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me,” Esther said to her relative, “and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

When life gets hard, the faithful turn even more fervently to God. Esther needed all the help she could get. Not only did she need help in talking her husband out of his decree, but she also had to risk her own life simply by going to the king without being summoned first (which was against the law, even for the queen).

Did you catch her conviction and faith? It’s worth a second read: “If I perish, I perish,” Esther said. Such powerful words were echoed by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to King Nebuchadnezzar when they refused to worship the king’s golden image.

Even when he threatened to throw them in the furnace for disobeying, they said boldly, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

“But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:17–18, emphasis added).

“But if not” and “If I perish, I perish” are incredible statements of faith. This kind of powerful faith exists regardless of any outcomes. Esther’s bravery ended up saving her people! Even so, she knew at the outset, as did Shadrack, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that while the results of choosing faith aren’t always certain, doing the right thing is always the right choice.

You’ll likely have times in your own life when choosing a righteous path might be difficult. None of us is free from the turbulent trials of mortality. But here too you can choose to be like Esther. Choose righteousness; let the consequences follow.

After all, you’re the only you there will ever be—and your “such a time” to make the world a better place is right now.