You Are Necessary

 

May 12, 2022

“Then Esther spoke to Hathach and instructed him to tell Mordecai, ‘All the royal officials and the people of the king’s provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days.’ When Esther’s words were relayed to Mordecai, he sent back to her this reply: ‘Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’” Esther 4:10-14 (BSB)

In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus he writes the following truth: 

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding…” (Ephesians 1:3-8)

Commenting on Ephesians 1:3-6, M. Robert Mulholland describes just how powerful it can be personally, when we recognize that we were chosen by God:
 

   “I once heard a woman tell of her struggle with this reality [of being an unwanted child]. Her mother was a prostitute, and she was the accidental byproduct of her mother’s occupation. Although her life’s pilgrimage had brought her to faith in Christ, blessed her with a deeply Christian husband and beautiful children, and given her a life of love and stability, she was obsessed with the need to find out who her father was. This obsession was affecting her marriage, her family and her life.
    

    She told how one day she was standing at the kitchen sink, washing the dishes, with tears of anguish and frustration running down her face into the dishwater. In her agony, she cried out, “Oh, God, who is my father?” Then, she said, she heard a voice saying to her, “I am your Father.”

    The voice was so real she turned to see who had come into the kitchen, but there was no one there. Again the voice came, “I am your Father, and I have always been your Father.” In that moment she knew the profound reality that Paul is speaking of. She came to know that deeper than the accident of her conception was the eternal purpose of a loving God, who had spoken her forth into being before the foundation of the world.
(Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation by M. Robert Mulholland and Ruth Haley Barton. Copyright (c) 2016 by M. Robert Mulholland and Ruth Haley Barton. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL.)

In case you are wondering, just like Esther and just like the woman above - you are wanted. You are needed. You are necessary.

You may not feel it. You may not grasp it. You may not believe it. But, that doesn’t change the fact that YOU ARE NECESSARY.

And, your time is now. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Today. This very minute you are reading this. YOU ARE IMPORTANT.

With all we are dealing with - everywhere across the globe - it is high time the church reminds everyone you are needed. Do not think for one moment you are not. If the enemy begins filling your mind with thoughts of inadequacy, incompetence or failure - remind the enemy that your victory over those things was completed over 2,000 years ago when the Son of God defeated the enemy by dying on the cross and being raised from the dead. YOU WERE WORTH IT.

Life is difficult. Life can be intimidating. Life can truly be brutal. Think how much more painful and impossible it would be without you…

We share this message with you this week to remind you that depression, pain, doubt, insecurity, dejection, heaviness of heart, sorrow, remorse…all of these feelings are real. They happen everyday. But, please, do not let these feelings overwhelm you without reaching out to someone. Your family. Your neighbor. Your friend. Your colleague. Your pastor. Your doctor. God’s word.

Thank God for you! Thank you for being you! Thank you for being in our lives! Thank you for being here…at this time…for such a time as this.

We love you. We appreciate you. We think of you. We pray for you. We look to you.

Why? Because God has created you in his image and placed you here…

you are necessary.