Two kinds of faith

For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Esther 4:14

This is Mordecai's conviction being used to forge similar courage in his niece. She was the last in her father's house. Mordecai took care of her because Esther was an orphan. He became a father and her advisor. And now he is pointing her to observe the way in which a sovereign God has positioned her to prevent a catastrophe from befalling the Jews.

Mordecai exhibits two kinds of faith. The first is the deepest: he has faith that God will somehow keep His covenant and deliver the Jews. Even if Esther did not succeed, God would still deliver the Jews. There were prophecies detailing the end of the exile and a renewed Israel. Mordecai believed the scriptures and knew that God would keep His word.

Beyond this, Mordecai exhibited a second kind of faith, one we seldom talk about as Christians. He had faith in Esther. He trusted that she would be brave enough to do the right thing and take her life in hand to appear before the king's court uninvited to plead for the deliverance of her people. This was a king who had already punished the poor protocol of his previous queen.

This faith in faithful people is important. It trusts that God is at work in the actions of people. It values the contributions they make by virtue of their personalities and positions. It is one of the central themes of the book of Esther since not once is God mentioned by name in the book. It is a literary device to help us see this faith in people. It is purposeful so that His sovereign work is evident as we trust faithful people that God is leading. I want to learn to have this faith in people even more than I do right now.