I was 7 months pregnant, sitting on the sofa in my family room and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Two planes just crashed into the World Trade Center…on purpose.
‘My baby will be here in 2 months,’ I thought to myself. ‘What kind of evil world is he about to enter into? Will he even have a chance?’
I called a friend. She was as stunned and heartbroken as I was. We processed our thoughts out loud…and we prayed.
Fast forward about ten years.
Smartphones are the newest thing. Everyone has one..and I mean everyone. The internet is literally in the palm of our hands…and so is our access to sin. The thought of raising my boys in this technology obsessed age began to overwhelm me. I called my friend (the same one as before). She understood my fears and allowed me to process my thoughts…out loud…again.
“Even if my boys aren’t trying to look up something inappropriate, what if a class mate jokingly shows it to them! And then they’re hooked. What then?”
What kind of world are we raising our children in? Will my boys even have a chance?
My friend reminded me, perversity and temptation are nothing new. Just read the book of Judges.
But God always gives His children strength to overcome. Remember Potiphar’s crazy wife? She wouldn’t leave Joseph alone…but God gave Joseph the wisdom and discernment to run away. God knew we would face the challenges we face today. If we continue to pray and stand on the principles found in His Word, God will give us the same wisdom and favor He gave Joseph.
My friend and I ended our conversation praying for our children .
Fast forward about ten more years.
It’s 2020. I’m driving home from work…still trying to process what I just saw. Empty shelves and grocery store lines that went half way through the store. It felt apocalyptic. What in the world? A pandemic?
I called my friend (yep, the same faithful one). I voiced my thoughts.
“In two months, my baby is supposed to graduate from high school. What kind of world will he enter into?”
We reminded one another- God knows all things. He knew THIS was going to happen…and that WE would all be a part of it.
In Jeremiah 1:5, God says to Jeremiah, “Before I created you, I knew you.”
Before Jeremiah even came out of his mother’s womb, God appointed him to be a prophet to the nations. God knew Jeremiah had what it took to be the “weeping prophet” and speak out against evil during some of the craziest times in Israel’s history.
God also created Esther knowing full well her plight would not be easy. He knew she would be an orphan. He knew she would end up in a beauty contest competing to be a queen. But as Esther’s uncle reminded her, she was born “FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?”…and so are we.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which GOD PREPARED BEFOREHAND that we should walk in them.”
God knew my oldest son would be 2 months from his high school graduation and my youngest son would be one lesson away from getting his drivers license. God knew our plans and He knew they would be changing. But God has given us (and our children) everything we need…not just to make it through this season, but to thrive and even be His voice of hope during these times.
As I pulled up to my house that evening after work, my friend and I did what we always do during uncertain times. We closed in prayer.
None of this phases God.
Before He created you & I, He knew us…and He knew what was in store for us. We have been appointed for “such a time as this.”
-Binu
