My Plan for You Was for Such a Time as This

Esther 4:12-14   When Hathach told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai sent her this message: “Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.”

Jeremiah 29:11-14   This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.  “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree. “I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

Romans 8:28   Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.


By Sarah Weintraub
I pray the following words bring hope and peace into your journey as a stepmom…

The book of Esther is one of my favorite books.  As you read through it, you notice God isn’t mentioned or His name written anywhere in it; however, you know His presence is all over the various plots being described.  The portion of the book where Esther is faced with the decision of telling the King to spare the lives of many by sacrificing her life or saving her own life and sacrificing the lives of many is my favorite.   During this time period, no one was allowed to approach the King unless he called for them, even the queen; it was a crime punishable by death.  Mordechai’s reminder to Esther has become the heartbeat to my stepmom journey, my self-proclaimed motto that reminds me of God’s marvelous ability to orchestrate life to keep me moving towards His plan for me.  “Maybe you were made queen (stepmom) for just such a time as this.”  

In true God fashion, He has used this journey of step -motherhood to bring me even closer to His plan for me.  He knew one day I would be presented the opportunity to pursue the calling He’d placed on my heart when I first discovered Joyce Meyer.  He has continually given me visions of standing on stage with a group of women sharing my testimony and His amazing grace for Stepmoms.   He laid it on my heart to write, to encourage others.  A God prod to start sharing my story and His works in my life that have led me to this place.  Just like Esther, He has spoken to me repeatedly – “For such a time as this…” 

One day the call came to be part of the Stepmoms Doing What Jesus Would Do ministry team.  I had a choice to make.  Esther had a choice to do what God was calling her to do or to walk away.  I believe God used Mordecai’s words to reach Esther’s heart and confirm what He was asking her to do.  As it is written in Jeremiah 29:11 (Message) “… I know what I’m doing.  I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”  Even though these words were meant for the Jewish community, it still has meaning to me, to us.  I believe Mordecai’s words were not his but God’s for Esther.  Just as Esther had a choice, as do we, the choice to follow where God is leading or the choice to stay. 

Before I was born, God had a plan for my life.  Like an orchestra conductor, He’s had to patiently teach me His song, when to rest, when to repeat, when to be quiet, and when to be loud.   His plan never changed for me even when my choices were against His plan.  I believe He doesn’t change, He will however, change me and redirect my steps back to His plan, the reason I was created. 

As a stepmom, I have been faced with many challenges, many, many challenges.  I to have had a choice to make - to do what my flesh wanted to do or to do what God asked me to do.  My choices have not been life or death, even though it may have seemed like it at the time.  Esther could have chosen to ignore God’s calling and many Jews would have been killed.  Instead, Esther chose to risk her life to save many. 

I can imagine her hyperventilating and nervously pacing and asking God “Are you sure you want me to do this, isn’t there someone else?  Why me?  I’m not sure I can do this Lord…”   I can relate!   Perhaps she knew what God had spoken to Jeremiah “… I know what I’m doing.  I have it all planned out – plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you desperately pursue.”   Perhaps she took comfort in the words from Mordechai and chose to risk her life because she knew this was what God wanted for her.  Esther’s calling was more than just saving those Jews; it was about following God and relying on His promises.  The Bible doesn’t say what happened after Esther saved the Jews.   I imagine Jews that were saved because of Esther’s selfless act served God as His vessels and may be the reason for our very existence.

What if God called you to be stepmoms because He created you “for such a time as this”?  God used Esther to keep His promise to the Jewish people.  How can God use you where you are?  He may need you to be His voice, His arms of comforts, His warrior, or His witness.  Over the last couple of years, I have opened myself up to be God’s vessel – His confirmation that hubby was making the right choice; His arms of comfort through the pain of rejection; His witness to the miraculous healing and restoration in our family. 

God’s words to Jeremiah for the Jewish people “I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”  God spoke these words AFTER Esther chose to tell the King, her husband, about the plot to kill the Jews.  He used Jeremiah to reassure the Jewish community He had not forgotten them.  What is God speaking to you about your family’s future, your future, your husband’s future, your kid’s(s’) future?  If you’re not sure, it’s never too late to start asking for Him to show you. 

God used Mordechai to reassure Esther this was what she was born to do.   My sister stepmoms, you were born for this moment, this journey.  Through the pains, the tears, the struggles, you were born for this life. 

He is orchestrating the events in our lives to lead us back to His plan for us.  In Romans 8:26-28 we are reminded “...He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.  That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” 

He’s telling you “My plan for you was for such a time as this.”