Those of us acquainted with some of the stories in the Old Testament remember the account of Esther, a young Jewish woman who found favour with the king of Persia, married him, and through her office managed to save the Jewish people from the evil plot of Haman. (It’s what the recently-celebrated festival of Purim marks for Jewish people.) In that story, as the plot to kill the Jewish people grows more obvious, her cousin, Mordecai, famously says to Esther, “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (Esther 4.14, NLT).
It’s a great illustration that reminds us that God’s timing is always right. There are no coincidences.
Earlier this week, I met with my spiritual director. I could tell something wasn’t quite right, and she revealed that she had just flown back from visiting her nonagenarian father, who had fallen and broken his ankle. The family was concerned for his health.
While we were talking, her cell phone rang. Normally, she would have ignored it, but because of her family situation, she chose to answer it, and I completely understood.
Matters had gotten worse, and her sister had called to tell my spiritual director.
Her sister put her dad on the phone, and my spiritual director talked with him briefly and prayed with him.
At that point, I knew our spiritual direction session was over. That was okay; it could wait. My spiritual director neededmy support at that time, and I sought to provide it as best I could.
When I departed, she told me, “I’m glad you were here today.”
So was I. I knew that it was no accident that all this would transpire while I was with her. My spiritual director and I are friends, too, and I was honoured to be able to care for her in that moment of need. I was there “for such a time as this.”
Let me encourage you to consider those occasions that you might think of “coincidences” as something more than that: whether good or bad, whether rejoicing or in crisis, think about how God may have placed you in a particular situation “for such a time as this,” and allow his ministry to take place, whether through you or through another person who is with you at the time.
As of the time of writing, my spiritual director’s father is improving.
Consider how God may place you in certain situations “for such a time as this.”
Passionately His 