Text: Esther 4:1-17
Memory text:
““Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!””
Esther 4:16 NKJV

Entering one’s set time requires confronting the odds, taking risks, being courageous, and ready to sacrifice. Esther’s set time didn’t arrive as a fun fair, but as a problem that threatened her people with destruction.
Haman planned to annihilate the Jewish race, of which Esther belonged. He backed up his plan with a signed decree of the king and a set date.
“…In the name of King Ahasuerus, it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring. And the letters were sent … to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month…” (Est 3:12-13).
Hearing this, Mordecai put on sackcloth and ashes, weeping and crying to the king’s gate. Esther didn’t discern the set time, so she sent him clothes to cover his sackcloth (Esther 4:4). She thought his grief was just personal sorrow. Her response was natural compassion, not spiritual discernment. However, Mordecai refused the garments because it was not about comfort but about destiny and timing. Except when there is a discernment, set time commonly disguises as a problem to be covered up instead of the problem to be confronted. It comes dressed in sackcloth, not silk. For Esther to clothe Mordecai was to miss the message; to heed Mordecai was to seize the moment. To try to cover the sackcloth is to try to cover the voice calling you into destiny.
Even after Mordecai gave the detailed plan of Haman and with evidence, Esther was still afraid of the risk of appearing before the king uninvited (Est 4:11). It takes discernment of the set time to take such risk. It was only after Mordecai’s challenge that she rose up to discern her set time. “For 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?”” (Est 4:14).
Sacrifice is required to step into destiny. Esther had to be willing to say, “If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16). She risked her life to secure her destiny.
Friends, you need courage to enter into your set time moment, and courage, sometimes, requires a voice to stir it. Fear is the gatekeeper of set time. You need the Spirit-inspired courage to confront fear. Many great destinies are lost because fear feels safer than risk.

Prayer points
1. I renounce the spirit of fear that keeps me from stepping into destiny; and I receive the Spirit-inspired courage to confront the fear in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, please help me not to cling to safety when You are calling me to sacrifice; send me voices of wisdom and correction to awaken me to my set time, in Jesus’ name.

Today’s declarations
1. Fear will not rob me of my set time; I will enter boldly into my set time season.
2. I will not clothe my Mordecai. Instead, I will discern my moment, rise in courage, and step into destiny.