A Standing Invitation
April 1, 2019
There is something about an invitation which makes us feel accepted, wanted, special, and included. And having a standing invitation makes us feel even more accepted, wanted, special, and included because a standing invitation from someone, means we are always welcome and we are always invited to visit at any time!
Invitations are powerful, both in this life and in the Bible. In Esther 4, we learn that Queen Esther received a copy of the decree to exterminate the Jews, and her cousin, Mordecai, challenged her to intercede on behalf of her people before the king. Esther explained the difficulty behind Mordecai’s prompting:
11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” (Esther 4:11, ESV)
The only confidence Esther had about going before the king without being invited, was that she was breaking the “one law” which could result in her death! Esther did not have a standing invitation to come before the king.
However, as we read further in chapter 4, Esther determined to go before the king without his bidding, and with great courage she declared, “If I perish, I perish” (4:16). I can only imagine what she wondered as she stood before the king. Would the king hold out his scepter and grant her approach? Would she live to see another sunrise?
What a comfort it is for us to know that we have a standing invitation with the King of Kings! Unlike Esther who could not approach her king, we may approach our King with surety:
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
What a wonderful confidence we have, that not only may we confidently approach the King without fear of death, but that we may be confident to receive mercy (not getting what we deserve) and find grace (getting what we do not deserve) to help in our time of need!
Thankfully, God provides help in our time of need and no request is too small, because He wants us to “let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6).
There is something about an invitation which makes us feel accepted, wanted, special, and included. Having a standing invitation makes us feel even more accepted, wanted, special, and included because a standing invitation from someone, means we are always welcome and we are always invited to visit at any time! We are always welcome to draw near to the throne of grace with the confidence that our Father wants to help in our time of need!