Throughout history, God has strategically placed godly men and women in places of influence to accomplish his unique purposes. Our American history is evidence of that as you look back at the people God placed in leadership positions at just the right times. But God’s plan has not been limited to the United States of America. It can be seen throughout the history of mankind. Read a good history book with a Christian perspective and you will be amazed to see the hand of God at work time and time again.

For my daily devotional reading of the Bible, I have been enjoying the historical books of the Old Testament. I recently completed the Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. My current study is the book of Esther. As I read through the history of Israel, I was amazed to see how God always had a godly man in place to influence the leadership of the nations. We are not surprised to read about a prophet preaching to Israel and Judah, but what about God’s desire to influence the unbelieving rulers of the nations which conquered them? Yes, even for these unrighteous rulers, God sent men to influence them for his good purposes. Consider the following men and women used by God to influence these rulers during the captivity.

KING	DATE	INFLUENCE	SCRIPTURE
Ashur-dan III	772-754 BC	Jonah	Jonah 3:5-10
Nebuchadnezzar	605-562 BC	Daniel	Dan. 2:46-47; 4:27, 37
		Shadrach, Meshac, Abednego	Dan. 3:28-29
Belshazzar	553-539 BC	Daniel	Dan. 5:13-29
Darius the Mede	538-536 BC	Daniel	Dan. 6:25-27
Cyrus	550-530 BC	Daniel	Dan. 1:21; 6:28
Ahasuerus	529-522 BC	Mordecai	Esther 8:7-8
		Esther
Artaxerxes	464-425 BC	Ezra	Ezra 7:12-26
		Nehemiah	Neh. 2:1-8

During this morning’s reading, I came across these solemn words addressed to Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of King Ahasuerus. “If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” As you look at the events in that particular book, you can clearly see that Esther and Mordecai were part of God’s plan for his people at that time. They were God’s instruments of influence on the foreign king of their day. So were these others listed above.

Now take a moment to consider yourself. Most of us think of ourselves as peons who will never be noted in any history books. But could it be that God has placed you in your particular situation as the man or woman of influence? You may never stand before kings, presidents, or leaders, but there should be no doubt that God has placed you in your home, school, or place of employment for his own unique purpose. And as there has always been someone whom God has used, could that person be you today?