For Such a Time as This

For a long time now, two stories have resonated with me in very different ways whenever I think about them.

The first is a statement Mordecai makes to Esther.

If you are not familiar with the story, it is a biblical account that took place during a time when the Israelites had been carried into captivity in a foreign nation. We hear of a man called Mordecai, who raised his orphaned cousin Esther as his own daughter. Esther was described as very beautiful, and because of that, she eventually became part of the process through which a new queen would be chosen.

At that time, there was a man called Haman, a high-ranking official in the king's palace, who desired the annihilation of the Jews. He used his influence to secure the king's approval for a decree that would lead to the destruction of the Jewish people.

By then, Esther had become queen following the removal of Queen Vashti. But she had entered the palace without revealing her true identity or background. She was living quietly, carrying out her role.

When Mordecai became aware of Haman's plot against their people, he reached out to Esther and said words that have echoed through generations. In Esther 4:14, he says, "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?"

Those words were more than encouragement. They were an awakening. Mordecai was telling Esther not to view her position in the palace as something meant only for comfort or privilege. He was helping her understand the timing and significance of her placement there. Perhaps God had allowed her to gain favour and enter the palace because He knew a moment like this would come, and she would be the vessel through which deliverance would reach her people.

When Esther heard those words, she went into action. She received them like seeds planted in her spirit and allowed them to shape her decisions. She responded with wisdom. She turned to God in fasting and prayer. She took deliberate, calculated steps, and through her obedience, courage, and wisdom, her people were saved.

Whenever I reflect on this story, I see it as a true reflection of life, not only for Esther, but for every one of us.

For those of us who come from Africa, from nations whose histories include slavery, colonialism, exploitation, and painful historical events, there is a question we must sit with.

You could have been born at any time.

You could have been born during the era of the slave trade. You could have been one of those who endured that suffering. Yet somehow, you were preserved and born in this generation.

Why?

Why were you born at this exact moment in history?

When you sit with that question long enough, you begin to realise that your gifts, your talents, your intelligence, your opportunities, even your physical traits, did not come to you merely by chance, or only because of DNA. They may have been entrusted to you because something about them is needed in this generation.

There is something timely within you.

A gift. A talent. A wisdom. A perspective.

Something your Creator placed inside you that is meant to bring liberation to your family, your community, your society, your country, and perhaps even beyond.

Yet many of us are living casually, without intentionality.

That is one of the things I want to challenge.

You do not exist merely for existence's sake. Your existence could have happened in any century. But your existence now may be because something embedded within you is what this generation needs.

This brings me to a quote by Maya Angelou that deeply resonates with me: "I come as one, but I stand as ten thousand."

I first heard this from Oprah Winfrey, and I later went back to listen to Maya Angelou herself.

What she communicates is profound.

Whenever you stand before any challenge, you are not standing there as only yourself. There are generations behind you. There are ancestors whose sacrifices, struggles, resilience, and survival made your existence possible.

So when you stand, you are not merely standing as one individual.

You stand as a representation of countless lives that came before you. You stand carrying their survival, their pain, their resilience, and their unfinished hopes.

So today, whether you are African, Ghanaian, Nigerian, or from any part of the world, when you think about the generations that came before you, when you think about the pain and sacrifice your ancestors may have endured to give you the life you have today, you must ask yourself an important question.

What life are you living?

What legacy are you leaving that goes beyond yourself?

What contribution are you making that will impact generations after you, simply because you existed in a time such as this?

When you think about everything that you are, the time that you are in, and the opportunities available to you, what contribution are you making that will be significant?

I know some of our forefathers did evil things. Yes, some did. But what good are you leaving behind?

When you finally close your eyes, will you be able to say you did not live only for yourself? Will you be able to say you used every talent, every gift, every ability you carried, to leave something meaningful for the next generation?

This does not necessarily have to come in the form of assets or wealth, though it can. But what are you doing with your giftings? Not only to earn income now, but to ensure that the generations inside of you, the ones not yet born, continue to live on.

Sit with these thoughts.

Reflect.

Whenever I come across these stories, this is what they communicate to me. And I realised this is wisdom I do not want to keep to myself. I want to share it with you. Could you ponder it?

You know your family's cries. You know the pain in your community. You know the struggles within society. And you also know what you carry.

You have within you the capacity to contribute.

That gift may be music. It may be writing. It may be invention. It may be leadership. It may be wisdom.

Whatever gifting you carry, you need to bring it out, not only to serve yourself, but to serve every generation hidden in your inside.

And remember, in every place you stand, ask yourself the same question Mordecai asked Esther.

Were you brought here for such a time as this?

And when you stand in that question, remember this: you may come as one, but you stand in the thousands of generations that came before you, and the generations that will come after you.

What then is your contribution?