#soap # Esther 07 ## Title: Take the Next Step ## Scripture: (Esther 7:3-4) Queen Esther replied, “If I have met with your approval, O king, and if the king is so inclined, grant me my life as my request, and my people as my petition. For we have been sold—both I and my people—to destruction and to slaughter and to annihilation. If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, for such distress would not have been sufficient for troubling the king.” (NET) ## Observation: This is the moment. Esther has prayed, she has had others pray with her, and she has prepared for the banquet. She invited the king and her enemy to the banquet and prepared for the moment she has right now. All that was left was to take the next step. When the time is right, you have to be willing to take the next step and trust the Lord with the results. This may seem like the most obvious thing ever, but it’s not. When hunting, it’s called “buck fever.” Hunters will say when you get that first buck in your sights and everything is ready, it’s sometimes hard to pull the trigger. You’re afraid to miss after all this preparation. I have experienced this in sales. You have spent the past 30 minutes explaining the product they came in to buy and the customer wants it. The only thing left to “push them over the finish line” is to ask what is called the “obligating question.” Many times, I would falter at this point. What if they say no? The bottom line is that you cannot help that. All you can do is ask. The great news is that God is with you either way, just like He was with Esther. So, take a deep breath and then step forward. ## Application: Take the next step. ## Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for being with us in all things.