Lyrics Page
Born For This (Esther)
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Sep 13, 2026 updated
Music Inspired By The Story album
Verified editorial review
Song Meaning
"Born For This (Esther)" speaks entirely in Esther's own voice at the exact moment before she approaches the king uninvited, a decision that could legally cost her life. Mandisa doesn't summarize the biblical story from a distance — the lyric sits inside the fear itself: "I found shelter underneath his crown, found favor inside his eyes, rock this boat and I just might drown."
"There's a time to hold your tongue, time to keep your head down, there's a time but it's not now" echoes Ecclesiastes' famous catalogue of seasons, but repurposes it as a decision point rather than a meditation on timing in general — the song insists this specific moment calls for the opposite of caution. "I'm leaning on the ones before me, my father's father's dreams" widens Esther's individual courage into inherited legacy, crediting generations before her rather than framing the moment as purely personal bravery.
The refrain "you were born for this" repeated at the end functions less as reassurance than as a verdict already decided before the risk is taken — the song's tension isn't whether the outcome will be good, but whether she'll act at all.
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
Feels like I've been holding my breath, trying to still my restless heart
Everything hangs on my next step, finding my nerve, playing my part
I found shelter underneath His crown, found favor inside His eyes
Rock this boat, and I just might drown, honesty seems to come with a price
There's a time to hold your tongue, time to keep your head down
There's a time but it's not now
Sometimes you gotta go, uninvited
Sometimes you gotta speak when you don't have the floor
Sometimes you gotta move, when everybody else says you should stay
No way, no, not today
You gotta ask, if you want an answer
Sometimes you gotta stand apart from the crowd
Long before your heart could run the risk
You were born for this
You were born for this
I'm leaning on the ones before me, my father's father's dreams
I'm standing on the top of their shoulders calling the One delivering me
There's a time to hold your tongue, time to keep your head down
There's a time but it's not now
Sometimes you gotta go, uninvited
Sometimes you gotta speak when you don't have the floor
Sometimes you gotta move, when everybody else says you should stay
No way, no, not today
You gotta ask, if you want an answer
Sometimes you gotta stand apart from the crowd
Long before your heart could run the risk
You were born for this
You were born for this
One step, one move.
Born to trust You.
Made to lay my
Life before You
Sometimes you gotta go, uninvited
Sometimes you gotta speak when you don't have the floor
Sometimes you gotta move, when everybody else says you should stay
No way, no, not today
You gotta ask, if you want an answer
Sometimes you gotta stand apart from the crowd
Long before your heart could run the risk
You were born for this
You were born for this
You were born for this
You were born for this
You were born for this