Regardless of our background or where we come from, we've all asked ourselves similar questions at some point in our lives.
- Why am I here?
- What am I supposed to do with the life I've been given?
- Why am I alive during this point in history?
- Why wasn't I born in a different era or even a different country?
- Why here? Why now?
For every person alive today, there are different answers to all of these questions.
The reason is simple. No two people are exactly the same.
I've collected an enormous amount of tools over the years.
For the most part, they remain in my garage, neatly tucked away until I need them.
Some are similar, but they're all different in certain ways.
There is, of course, one thing they have in common.
When used for their intended purpose, they're all very effective.
If I want to loosen a bolt, I'll use a wrench.
But even within that application, there are different types of wrenches.
Some are adjustable, and some are fixed sizes.
Some will give me more leverage, and some less.
Regardless of what I might need to accomplish the task at hand, I probably have a tool for it.
It's important, however, to use the proper tool for the job.
I wouldn't use a hammer to tighten a screw any more than I'd use a wrench to drive in a nail - although I have been guilty of attempting to do the latter with often disappointing results.
We, like these many tools, were all created for a specific purpose.
When called upon by God, we're used in ways that fit perfectly with our original design.
We all have different gifts, talents, skills and abilities wired deeply into who we are.
Have you ever noticed you have an uncanny ability to accomplish various tasks that others find extremely difficult?
Have you ever wondered why others don't have the ability to do these things that seem so elementary for you?
Have you ever responded to questions about how they're so easy for you by saying: "I don't know. I guess I was just born that way?"
Yes, you were.
Yes, there's a reason for this.
A trap we've all fallen into at times is wishing our gifts were different.
We'll see someone else do things we can't and wish we were more like them in that regard.
But what if my hammer wished it was a wrench?
What if it believed it should be a screwdriver?
What if the tools I don't use as often as others refused to leave the toolbox unless they were promised to be used more?
Chaos would ensue.
In the book of Esther, we read the story of a high ranking official who designed a plot to kill all the Jews in his land.
Esther - a Jew herself and queen at the time - was told about this plot by her cousin, who pleaded with her to speak to the king and ask him to stop this from happening.
But there was a problem.
Anyone who dared to approach the king in such a way - even the queen - would more than likely be killed on the spot for doing so.
She resisted at first, not wanting to risk her own life.
She then received the following message from her cousin:
"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" - Esther 4:13-14
In the end, she did approach the king about this.
She was not killed for doing so, and the lives of the Jewish people were spared as a result.
Here's a very important point:
Esther was not born into royalty.
She was a simple Jewish woman the king brought into his kingdom because he thought she was beautiful and wanted her to be his wife.
I'm certain she never imagined she'd find herself in that situation.
But there she was, in the perfect place, at the perfect time, having been created with the perfect gifts and skills needed to complete the work God had intended her to do long before she was even born.
An interesting side note is her cousin said that - if she didn't act - deliverance would come from someone else.
Just because someone has the perfect skills, at the perfect time, to be used by God in great ways doesn't always mean they'll step up when called upon.
But refusing to do so will mean missing out on the opportunity to be used in amazing ways.
- This is you.
- This is me.
- This is all of us.
We may not ever be involved in such a dramatic story involving the lives of so many others.
We may never have our stories written about and passed along to other generations over thousands of years.
But we are all tools God wants to use.
He might not pull us out of His toolbox every single day.
He won't use us for every type of job.
But when He does call upon us, we can be certain He's already designed us perfectly for the task at hand.
What did God create you to do?
How does He want to show His strength, His wisdom, and His power through you in ways that impact the world around you?
If you don't know, just ask Him.
