“Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful.”
—Esther 2:7 NIV

Esther was a refugee, living during the period when the Israelites were held in captivity far from their own land.

She was an orphan, raised by her cousin Mordecai.

She was also a woman in a highly sexist society.

Not exactly the person you would expect to change the course of history.

And yet God placed her in the right place at the right time, making her the queen of Persia so that she could stop the planned genocide of the Jewish people.

If you have been following along with the Advent devotionals so far, you will have noticed a theme: God loves to use unlikely, imperfect and insignificant people to write his story.

People like you and me.

If you’re tempted to feel that you’re too small and unimportant for God to use you in his story, remember that he himself came to this world as a weak and defenseless baby.

The Imperfect Nativity truly is good news.

Here’s a simple prayer to carry with you today:

Breathe in: God of Esther,
Breathe out: Use me in your story.