JUNE 21, 2025

 “To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.” 

― Winston S. Churchill

ESTHER 1-3

19When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.

21During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana^b and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. 23And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.(2:19-23)

ACTS 5:1-16

12The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.

JOURNAL 

Mordecai’s quiet faithfulness in Esther 2:19–23 has always stood out to me. He doesn’t seek glory or recognition. He simply does the right thing—raising Esther as his own, guiding her with wisdom, and later uncovering a plot against the king. He doesn't act out of bitterness or wounded pride despite being in exile, despite enduring hardship because of others’ failures. Instead, he remains watchful, steady, and obedient. His actions, though seemingly small at the time, are later recorded in the royal annals—setting the stage for deliverance far greater than he could have imagined.

This makes me think of how God uses the overlooked and mundane moments of our lives for divine setups. Just like Mordecai, many of us don’t know that the faithfulness we practice in the shadows is preparing us for a moment that may shape destinies, perhaps not just ours, but those connected to us.

In Acts 5:12–16, we see another striking contrast. Peter, once the denier, is now the bold preacher. The same man who hid in fear is now so full of the Spirit that people bring the sick into the streets just to touch his shadow. That’s not just influence, that’s transformation. But it didn’t come from seeking recognition. It came from brokenness, repentance, and ultimately, submission. He was prepared in pain, shaped by failure, and empowered by grace.

Winston Churchill once wrote, “To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing... What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared...” That line resonates deeply with me now, especially as I look back on my own life, how much of it I spent chasing things to validate my worth. Titles, success, relationships, none of it could hold the weight of my identity. I see now that I was trying to earn what I already had: value, purpose, belovedness.

Hebrews 12:7–11 reminds me that hardship is not punishment but preparation. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest...” It’s through the difficulty—through the stripping away of illusions, that God makes us ready. Not just for a moment of greatness, but for a life marked by quiet obedience and eternal impact.

I see now that much of what I once pursued, success, affirmation, status, was really a desperate attempt to find identity apart from God. And in doing so, I was always anxious, always striving, always performing. But identity grounded in Christ allows for a different kind of strength—the kind that can wait, endure, and serve in secret.

What I’ve learned over the years is this: preparation often looks like obscurity. And adversity, while painful, may be the very hand of God forming us for something greater. So, I choose today to lean into discipline, not as punishment, but as a Father’s love. I choose to believe that my finest hour is not something I must chase, but something I must be ready to receive.

And readiness begins now, in the quiet, in the faithfulness, in the humility to be molded.

 7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

HEBREWS 12:7-11