“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 family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14
“Though God chooses to use people, he is by no means dependent on them. Many believers act as though they are indispensable to the Lord’s purposes, and if they refuse to do his bidding God’s work will grind to a halt. Mordecai’s challenge to Esther must be heard and heeded. Our sovereign God will accomplish all his objectives with or without us. He calls us not out of his need for us but for our need to find fulfillment in serving him” (Eugene Merrill, in The Old Testament Explorer).
It’s a sobering thought, God doesn’t need us. “He is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:25).
The thought could make us apathetic. We may think, what’s the point of serving God if he doesn’t need me? It may lead us to become unmotivated and uninvolved in spiritual pursuits.
Alternatively, we could choose to serve God out of a sense of love and gratitude for all he has done for us. God has always initiated and pursued a relationship with the people he created. He then restored the relationship, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, when sin marred and corrupted it. God was under no obligation to do this, remember, he doesn’t need us, but he willingly chose to pay the price so we could enjoy a relationship with him.
When we understand the depth of God’s compassion, we will want to serve him out of love.
