One of the most beautiful stories about The Lord’s provision for and protection of His people occurs in the Old Testament, in the story of Queen Esther. Esther was an orphaned Jew, chosen by the king of Persia to be his queen. Her beloved cousin and foster-father, Mordechai, uncovered a plot that would call for the murder of all Jews.

He beseeched Esther to go to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. But to do that without an invitation was an offense that was punishable by death.

“And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”

Understandably, Esther expressed concern over her potential disobedience to the king’s law and the price she might pay with her own life. But Mordechai reminded Esther that God Himself had placed her in the palace.

In Esther 4: 13-14, he sends her a message, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.  For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

For such a time as this.

Tuesday, Nov. 8, is a moment in our great nation’s history that we will remember for the rest of our lives. It will be studied, analyzed, and scrutinized for generations to come. This is a time of choice and consequence.

Related: The Trumps Ask for Prayer in Final Days of Election

Certainly our position as voters is not as elevated as Esther’s as queen. Our country’s election is not the same as the threatened genocide of the Jewish people. But the same God who placed Esther in the palace of the king is the God who has strategically placed us here and now. And we have a choice before us.

Tuesday is the day we have the opportunity to be a part of something historic, to speak out, to cast our vote. There is no do-over.

Do not be deceived. To stay at home in your personal, silent protest is still a choice. It is, in fact, a vote for Hillary Clinton and a blessing on her presidency and consent for her policies. Your silence, your write-in, your rejection of Trump as the appropriate, traditional candidate is a choice for radical policies that will rob America and all of us of opportunity and integrity.

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Consider what is at stake: Abortion, immigration, Supreme Court justices, trade, health care, constitutional rights, education … the list goes on and on. Is it worth it?

Related: Young Catholic Doesn’t Hold Back on Hillary

Let’s not remain silent at such a time as this. Let’s not stand by or stay home because Donald Trump is not what you personally pictured in a candidate. Maybe you have felt insulted by some of his comments. Maybe you are still offended by his choice of words. Maybe you are justified in your convictions — but are you willing to live with the consequences of a corrupt, unchecked Clinton presidency?

Are you willing to watch our health care system crack under the weight and expense of the Affordable Care Act? Are you willing to watch your Second Amendment rights be stripped away?

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Are you willing to stand beside the candidate who has promised to protect the most vulnerable? The candidate who has surrounded himself with people of faith and received their endorsements? The candidate who has achieved professional success and promises that same success to our citizens? The candidate who promises to fight for you and for this country?

For such a time as this.

Esther, in what I imagine was great God-given courage, determination, and submission, answered Mordechai with a message pleading for prayer. She said, “And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”

Thankfully, we do not face the consequence of death to cast a vote. But we do carry the weight of responsibility to choose the best path for America forward. Make your choice and make sure you are willing to live with its result.

Katie Nations is a working mother of three young children. She has been married for 15 years and lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.