“Perhaps only when human effort had done its best and failed, would God’s power alone be free to work.” 

— Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

As leaders, we are faced with challenging situations regularly, whether it’s a difficult decision, having to work through conflict with a friend, family member, or colleague, or having to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Part of being a good leader is learning to embrace godly resilience.

Resilience is one’s ability to overcome or recover from difficulty, pain, fear, or challenge. In Scripture, Esther is one of the greatest examples of godly resilience. Though God is not mentioned in the book of Esther at all—maybe signaling how absent God seemed to the exiled Jews—his fingerprints are all over this story.

While in exile in the Persian capital of Susa, Esther was taken away from her family and community to be a part of the Persian king’s harem. Eventually, the king was so infatuated with her that she was declared his queen. All the while, Esther never revealed her Jewish ancestry.

Simultaneously, a man named Haman—the king’s top official—gave a decree that all Jews should be put to death, because of a run-in Haman had with Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and adoptive father. Mordecai, knowing Haman’s plan, sent word to Esther, encouraging her to use her influence and position to talk to the king and save her people. Mordecai said,

“If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14)

Despite the risk of death—going unrequested to the king was highly illegal—Esther agreed, saying, “If I perish, I perish” (v. 16). 

Thinking about all Esther went through really puts our challenges into perspective. She was isolated and probably very scared. To do the right thing meant breaking the law, going against authority, and risking her life. Despite this, she showed incredible boldness, courage, and resilience, using her position of power and influence to help those in need—even when God felt absent to her and her people.

Though it’s unlikely that we will ever have to appeal to a king under threat of death in order to save everyone we know and love, there are situations in our lives where we will have to show the godly resilience and toughness of Esther. We may have to use our influence to break unjust rules, go against what the world tells us, and put ourselves at risk in order to do what is right and good and loving.

In this, we follow the model of Jesus, who continually put himself at odds with corrupt authority figures, stepping into harm’s way to teach us about true justice and righteousness, and eventually dying for the sake of us all.

Where in your life and leadership do you need God’s resilience to help you overcome difficulty? How might the position, power, and influence we have been given be used for the betterment of others? 

If we start to actively look for how God wants to use us as leaders, we may just find that we have been placed in our current situation “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

To Consider: 

1. When was a time that you felt as though God had placed you in a position of power or influence for a greater purpose?

2. Where do you need God to strengthen you with his resilience today? How might he already be at work in and around that situation?

3. How might God have placed you where you are for such a time as this? How can your position or influence be used to love and care for others?

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