It is often suggested that a belief in the absolute sovereignty of God can lead to fatalism. If God has already decided what will happen, why pray? If God has already decided who will be saved, why evangelise?

In Esth 4:14, Mordecai says, “if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place”. What does he mean? He seems to have faith that God will somehow bring about salvation for the Jews, and that even if Esther does nothing, God’s plan would not be thwarted. But notice that he doesn’t conclude that Esther therefore need do nothing. In fact, he concludes the opposite, and goes as far as warning her that she is in more danger by refusing to act than she would be if she did (see Esth 4:13-14).

Then in Esth 4:15, Mordecai utters perhaps the most famous phrase in the book: “who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this”. Assuming that Esther had not wanted to be part of the harem, this was not necessarily a comforting thought. She was effectively being told that God was behind all her own plans for her life being dashed. Yet I wonder if the story of Joseph was in Mordecai’s mind. Joseph was able to see that despite the evil intentions of his brothers, God’s sovereignty had positioned him to be in exactly the right place at the right time (Gen 50:20).

Esther agrees that she needs to take action and in Esth 4:16 she says “if I perish, I perish”. Again this should not be interpreted as a fatalistic “whatever will be will be” attitude. She knows that the future is hidden and she has no personal guarantee of safety. Yet she recognises that the safest place to be is in the will of God.

The story is told that a young William Carey was once told “Young man, sit down: when God pleases to covert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine”. Thankfully he knew better than to follow this hyper-calvinist advice, viewing God’s sovereignty as a reason to act, not as a reason to relax and take it easy.

Part of the resolution of this dilemma is the recognition that God has not only ordained what he wants to accomplish, but the means by which he will accomplish it. He intends to include us, to answer our prayers, to use our best efforts despite our weaknesses and mistakes. Faith in a sovereign God should propel us to action, knowing that when we are on his mission we are guaranteed to be part of something that will succeed. Passivity and fatalism dishonours God. Esther and Mordecai, on the other hand, display the kind of faith that is willing to step out and take risks in order to see God’s purposes accomplished.