[Steve Myers] We certainly live in challenging times. There are tumultuous things going on all around us. But it's not unique. These types of occurrences happen throughout history. Biblically speaking, I think of the example of Queen Esther. You probably know the story, the Jews had been taken into captivity. The Persian king ruled the world, the empire at that day.

Well, Queen Esther was a Jew. Her Uncle Mordecai encouraged her at a critical point when an evil advisor, Haman, wanted to kill all the Jews. He convinced the king to make an edict, that it was okay if they did that. Who was going to stand up and defend the truth, defend the Jews, save the Jews? What could Queen Esther do? You couldn't even approach the king without an invitation.

Well, Mordecai confronted Esther and told her this was her time to stand up, to stand strong, to exhibit her faith. And in the book of Esther, here's what Mordecai says to her, "If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place. But you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this, for such a time as this."

For such a time as this, well, Esther certainly stood up, she heeded Mordecai's advice. And ultimately, the Jews were saved, for such a time as this. Well, we live in such a time. We live in a time where we must stand for the truth. We must not accept the things that are against God. We must stand for the truth of the Word of God. And that's gonna take courage.

That's gonna take a faith, and we may feel maybe a little like Esther did it first, that we can't do it. How can I stand up against the odds? How can I maintain my faith in God? How can I have the resolve, the commitment to stand up, no matter what, no matter what challenges I face, to stand for the truth, to stand for righteousness, to stand for the faith that God has given me?

We've gotta put God to the test and put our faith in Him, because there's no doubt we all will face times like this. And we need to turn to God and look to Him for His guidance, for His confidence. He lives in us, and we can draw on the power of God's Holy Spirit to do what's right, no matter what. We've been called for such a time as this, to be that shining light to this world, that no matter what any qualities are going out there, we stand for what's right.

We do what's right. We live what's right. We strive to think what's right, no matter what. And so God gives us the means to be able to do that because we have not been given a spirit of fear, but we've been given the Holy Spirit, a spirit of power and love, and right-thinking, sound thinking, wholesome thinking. And so we can be that shining light in this dark world, and we don't have to fear. We don't have to fear the Hamans that are out there in this world.

Yes, they stand against us, but with the power of God behind us, we can stand true. There's a great passage over in Isaiah 41:10, it says this, "Fear not, I am with you." That's God telling us that. "Be not dismayed for I am your God, I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Now, we know we can't do it on our own. We have to put our full trust in God. So let's do just that because we live in difficult times, but perhaps we've been called for such a time as this.

It's "BT Daily." We'll see you next time.