…if I perish, I perish. – Esther 4:16, Amplified Bible (AMP)

The Book of Esther represents a tremendous road map for making true decisions of faith.

True decisions of faith involve acting on what we believe God would have us do while having no absolute proof – like a voice from Heaven – to confirm our decision. The lack of a Heavenly voice, however, does not mean that God leaves us without direction. In decisions of faith, God will present us with clues that make it pretty obvious what His will is, and the clues He will give us will be the same ones that He gave Esther. These clues are:

1. His Word: Esther no doubt knew the two great, Old Testament commandments that Jesus quoted in Matthew 22:36-40: love God with all of your being (Deuteronomy 6:5) and love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). In line with these biblical principles, it was logical for Esther to put God’s name and her people’s lives above her own safety.
2. Orchestrated circumstances: With a little prodding from Mordecai, Esther realized that her sudden ascendance to royalty could not have been coincidental. It had to be orchestrated by God. At the appropriate time, God will reveal to us that our circumstances have not come about by chance; they have been orchestrated by Him for “such a time as this.”
3. Wise counsel: Sometimes, especially when we are in the throes of fear, God will send one or more wise Mordecais our way. These counselors will give us an objective look at our situation, and when their counsel is in line with God’s Word and with God’s orchestrated circumstances, then their counsel will complete the puzzle of purpose that we so desperately seek to solve.

God’s clues are well and good, but then there is always that nagging question, “What if I read the clues wrong, this isn’t God’s will, and I really mess things up?” For the average person, this question will enter the mind, and this is why reaching the point that Esther reached in Esther 4:16 is essential to taking the final plunge of faith. Before being able to act on God’s clues, one must emotionally accept the possibility that the worst could happen, and if it does, it does. The statement, “If I perish, I perish,” was Esther’s way of saying, “My life is in God’s hands. I’m going to do what I think God wants me to do, and if bad things happen, so what? All I care about is doing what I believe God would have me to do, and I’m no longer going to worry about the consequences.” Esther reached a total state of abandonment in 4:16, and if we are to have her courage in our own decisions of faith, we will need to relinquish control of our outcomes to God, just like Esther did.

If you are in the midst of a true decision of faith, are you ready to take the plunge? Are you emotionally ready to accept the worst as a possible consequence of pursuing God’s best? It’s a hard choice. But, it’s the right choice.

Just ask Esther.