You’re probably somewhat familiar with the story of Esther. In the book of Esther, the king removed his wife from her position as queen because she wouldn’t obey him in a certain situation. The king needed to find a new queen, so he chose one from among the beautiful women of his subjects.
Esther was one of the chosen candidates for queen. After a long period of preparing to come before the king, she presented herself to the king and he chose her to be his wife.
A little bit after Esther married the king, one of the king’s officials came up with a plot to kill the Jews that Esther’s uncle heard about. And Esther was a Jew--the Jews were her people. Her uncle told Esther about the plot and asked her to convince the king to spare the Jews.
But Esther was only lawfully allowed to talk to the king if he summoned her. If she approached him without a summons, she would die unless the king spared her life by extending his golden scepter. Because of this, Esther was hesitant at first about the idea of approaching him.
Mordecai had such faith in God that he told her, “If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place.” He also said, “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).
Esther listened to her uncle and approached the king to ask him to free the Jews. All turned out well in the end; Esther’s life was spared and the plot to kill the Jews was averted. Esther had become queen at that time for a reason--to help save the Jews.
Let me ask you the same question as Mordecia asked Esther: what if you are in the position you are in right now for a reason?
What if God put you in the family you’re in for a reason? The school you’re in? The town, church, or friend group you have?
This isn’t to say that God’s purpose for you right now is to do something like Esther and help avert a plot to kill people. But God puts us in places and situations where He can work through us to make an impact.
Think of all of the times God put people in certain situations or places for a reason in the Bible.
Of course, God made Esther queen for a reason. But there was also Joseph. Jacob was favored by his father, which made his 11 brothers jealous of him. They sold him into slavery in Egypt because of their jealousy while Jacob was only a teenager. He went from slave to prisoner in Egypt. But while he was in prison, Pharaoh had a dream that needed interpretation. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, and because of it, Egypt was able to prepare for a drought and many lives were spared. Joseph was much older at this point--in his 30s or 40s--and it must have been hard to be faithful as a slave and a prisoner for as long as he was one. But God put Joseph in the position he was in for a purpose.
When the Israelites were still slaves in Egypt, Pharaoh ordered all Israelite boys to be killed while they were babies. Moses was an infant born during this time, but his mother hid him and eventually put him in a basket on the Nile river, where Pharaoh’s daughter found him. Pharaoh’s daughter adopted Moses and raised him as her own. Later, because Moses had lived, he was able to help lead the Israelites out of captivity. God put him in the hands of Pharaoh’s daughter for a reason.
Daniel was taken from his home and to Babylon, where he faced many tests for his faith because almost no one else in the land had faith in God. At one point, the king of Babylonn outlawed praying to anyone but himself. Daniel continued to pray to God, and was caught and thrown into a lion’s den for punishment. He survived the lion’s den because of God’s grace, which showed the king the king just how powerful God is.
All of these people were put in a certain place at a certain time for a reason. What if the same is true of where God has put you?
God has promised that if He has called us, He will work things together for our good (Romans 8:28). He will bring the work He has begun in us to completion (Phillipians 1:6). If you are a child of God, He will use you for His plan.