Read: Esther 8

She falls.

She falls to her knees.

She falls to her knees, her body trembling like a fragile leaf.

She falls to her knees, her body sobbing from the inside out.

As Queen Esther pleads before the king, I want to pause the story and ponder.

I love the story of Esther, and I love her character. The words of her uncle Mordecai say it all so succinctly and profoundly: ‘Who knows that you weren’t placed in the palace for such a time as this?’

The phrase ‘for such a time as this’ is one of my favourite parts of the Bible. One woman in a foreign world, one woman seeking justice and mercy for her entire people, one woman putting her life on the line to save a nation – it’s an inspiring and challenging story. But today, for the first time, a part of it leaps out at me like never before.

I’ve always seen the dilemma Esther faces in risking her life to go before the king. I’ve latched on to the drama of the decision she makes, but somehow missed this emotional moment when she falls to her knees, weeping and begging for her people. Today it strikes me like a thunderbolt. As I see the emotions erupting in Esther, as I see the pain and the passion she has for her people, it hits me.

Nehemiah weeps, fasts and prays for his people as his brothers bring back the bad news of the burnt-down, broken-down walls of Jerusalem.

Jesus weeps when he sees the city of Jerusalem. I see the passion, the emotion, the gut-wrenching desperation for people who are lost and whose lives are on the line. For people, a city and a nation that has fallen and are in dire need.

I see the passion, and I’m challenged, deeply challenged.

In our nation, in our call to serve Christ in our churches, our schools, or wherever God has placed us, what makes us fall on our knees? What drives us to heartache and even despair?

There’s a lost world, a fallen mankind, a devastated neighbour, a broken family member, city, nation – all around us people who need to know the saving grace of God. Is it time to fall on our knees before our King?