What does it truly mean to be blessed? In this powerful exploration of Esther chapters 7 and 8, we are challenged to move beyond a self-centered understanding of blessing and embrace a deeper, more transformative truth: we are blessed to be a blessing. The story of Esther places before us a young woman who, positioned in a palace of influence and comfort, chose to risk everything she had in order to relieve the suffering of an entire people facing genocide. Her courage in naming the villain Haman and interceding before the king a second time, even after her own safety was secured, paints a vivid picture of what it looks like to leverage blessing on behalf of the helpless, the hurting, and the hopeless. We are invited to ask ourselves honestly whether we have been living as a river, allowing God's blessing to flow through us into the world, or as a reservoir, holding it all in for our own comfort and ease. The spiritual lesson here is both simple and convicting: seeing the need around us is the first step toward answering the call God has placed on our lives.