Be Still — He Is Our Defender
March 05, 2025
This month our spiritual theme encourages us to “Be Still” in our actions because we know that God is our defender. We have all felt the need to defend ourselves. Realistically, this is seldom because our lives are physically at stake and most often because our security, reputation, or desires are at stake. I can remember a very difficult season in my own personal life when I was falsely accused and misunderstood in such a way that my life was upended dramatically, and the only hope I had was that God is my shield and my defender. During this season, God did not deliver me from the effects of the poor choices others made, but I sure learned that God was for me, His way for me was good, and His timing was perfect.
A historical account in the Bible, set in ancient Persia during 4th century BC, tells us of how an oppressive prime minister, Haman, schemed to annihilate all the Jews of Persia—simply out of prideful anger toward a Jewish man, Mordecai. Mordecai, in an effort to rescue his people, enlisted his beautiful cousin Esther to present herself to King Xerxes as a potential bride. As the story goes, the king became enamored with her, and she bravely used her influence to advocate for her people. This required a tremendous amount of courage for Esther, as petitioning the king without being summoned could result in death! Nonetheless, she boldly yielded to Mordecai’s counsel:
“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, NIV
Esther went to King Xerxes to intercede on behalf of the Jews. Though God’s name is never explicitly mentioned in the book of Esther, the above verse makes it clear that God would have delivered His people with or without Esther’s help because He is their defender. In Esther's courageous step of faith, she gets to be the means of their deliverance and witness what God our defender can do.
Sometimes being still means being silent and trusting God to work on our behalf. Sometimes it means showing up and doing hard things and trusting God to work in our situation. In both instances, do you notice how God is the one working on our behalf? Friends, He is our defender!
