What is my part?

We all face problems in life.  Working through them is much easier when we trust that God has a solution.  The Israelites were in captivity and now one of their own is queen, even though she hasn’t told the king Xerxes that she is a Jew.  Esther and her cousin, Mordecai, are starting to see God’s solution to their problem.  Their problem is about to get worse, though.  A new character enters the story: Haman.

Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire. All the king's officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect. (Esther 3:1-2 NLT)

Haman gets power hungry and full of pride.  He wants respect from everyone as the king’s right-hand man.  It probably wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he wants to one day be king.  Mordecai wouldn’t bow down to him, so Mordecai became the focus of his anger.

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage. He had learned of Mordecai's nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes. (Esther 3:5-6 NLT)

Now, a problem between Haman and Mordecai has become a problem between Haman and all Israelites.  They will all be put to death because of his pride and anger.  He even convinces the king.  Now, Esther and all of her kinsmen will die.  Her cousin Mordecai tries to convince her to go talk to the king.

Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: "Don't think for a moment that because you're in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?" Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die." (Esther 4:13-16 NLT)

There is a moment in every solution that we end up asking ourselves a question: What is my part?  This is good and God wants us to ask the question.  God has a solution to our problems, but God also offers to involve us in that solution.  When we ask what our part is, we are asking God to lead us in our involvement.  When we do, we experience more than peace.  We experience a sense of joy that comes from doing our part of God’s plan.

How about you?  Do you trust that God has a solution to your problems?  Do you ask God how you should be involved in that solution?  Do you ask, “What is my part?”