“From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.”
- Acts chapter 17, verse 26
Read the scripture above and think about it for a minute.
Really think about it…the Lord has marked out your appointed times; determining the nation in which you would be born, and the era of history within which you would exist.
That’s mind blowing.
And comforting.
It means that: we were born for such a time as this.
This reality deals a death blow to self-pity, complacency and fear.
For such a time
Esther didn’t ask to be alive during a planned genocide.
But! She was made for that time. The Lord had allotted her portion; and had equipped her with the experiences needed, to fulfil her purpose in the context within which she found herself. Unbeknownst to her, the most significant moment of her life would come at the height of the greatest crisis of her generation.
There wasn’t a person better prepared for the job. She was born for that. Esther rode the wave of crisis into glory, and has an entire book in the Bible dedicated to her act of obedience and courage to show for it.
Similarly, we probably didn’t ask to live through a pandemic. However, the Lord, in His wisdom and sovereignty, saw fit for us to be here. And like Esther, we were born for such a time as this. The crisis of our generation is meant to drive us to our deepest levels of intimacy with God, and our highest fulfilment in Him.
Beloved, we were made for glory.
A generation of deliverers
The crisis of Esther’s day drove her to the place of prayer. She petitioned the Lord with fasting, for three days and emerged victorious. Likewise, let us allow this present crisis to usher us into the place and position of intercession. Intercessors are those who stand before God on behalf of men, and before men on behalf of God: - intervening in moments of grave trouble.
Deliverers emerge in seasons of great difficulty (as do tremendously cruel oppressors). Periods of tribulation are the pangs which birth the heroes of our faith.
What manner of person are you to be that the Lord would entrust to you the privilege of your present suffering?
What wonderful plans does the Lord have in mind for this generation, that would result in these methods of preparation?
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you know.
Extraordinary times
The days ahead certainly promise to be exciting. The life of faith in Christ rightly lived, is rarely boring (even in the midst of the ordinary and mundane). Our present light and momentary afflictions are always working for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 17), if we would but allow them to work.
Be of good courage then friend, and fellow labourer!
These are not ordinary days, and the men and women being produced in our time are also far from ordinary.
You were born for this.
There are no ordinary people.
You have never talked to a mere mortal.
Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat.
But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.
But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.
And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment.
Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses.
—C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (reprint, HarperOne, 2001), pp. 45-46.
Francesca Tavares (West Indies) is a daughter, sister, friend, avid reader, attorney-at-law, and porridge connoisseur. She enjoys Jesus and fulfilling His purposes for her life on Earth.
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