It’s hard to read the book of Esther and not be impressed by her courage.

Her people were in danger of annihilation. Her adoptive father Mordechai encouraged her to approach the King to intervene. Sounds simple enough. But if she approached without an invitation she could be killed. (I’m glad I don’t live in a royal court in ancient Perisa, aren’t you?)

After considering her options, and after requesting her people to fast for three days, here is what Esther said: “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

She decided to go for it.

C.R. Wiley tells of a man who worked with street gangs. Sometimes his life was threatened. In response he would say: “You can’t threaten a man with heaven.”*

That’s so good. And I think it gives us some insight into Esther’s frame of mind. Even if she died, she couldn’t lose. After all, she would be going to her Maker. This knowledge put wind in her sails, even if it was about to be taken from her lungs.

Neil Anderson and Timothy Warner define courage like this: “Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is resolute action in the presence of fear.”** Timothy Keller says that courage primarily comes “from wanting something more than your own safety.”***

You and I may not be living in a royal harem in ancient Persia, but we are living in an ever-changing and ever-challenging world. As the years roll on, and as the winds get increasingly fierce against biblical Christianity, we will need to be men, women and youth of courage.

Jesus EXPECTED his followers to face opposition. When that happens, may we be filled with profound humility, overflowing love, steadfast truth, authentic holiness, and Esther-like courage.

“And if I perish, I perish.”

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Notes and extra content:

—“For such a time as this – Esther, Part 2.” Sermon. February 18, 2024. Click here.

—*As told in: “The Antifragile Pastor.” Posted on Crosspolitic on November 15, 2018: https://crosspolitic.com/the-antifragile-pastor/

—**Neil T. Anderson and Timothy M. Warner, The Essential Guide to Spiritual Warfare (Minneapolis: BethanyHouse, 2000), 29.

—***Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller, The Songs of Jesus (New York: Viking, 2015), 285.

—Bible quotes are from the NIV.