Positioned for God's Destiny

​God has a position and destiny for every individual on the face of the earth. We are positioned for the purpose that God ordained for us. He consecrates us and sets up apart to influence those around us. The Bible gives us examples of individuals who have had "mantles" placed upon them. A mantle is a calling, an anointing, or transference of spiritual power and authority given to someone by God. We can look at the lives of Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Elijah, David, and Esther, to name a few.
 
One of the great modern-day prophets, Kim Clement, who is now in heaven, made a statement about the ways our lives unfold in alignment with our destinies. He said, "Your destiny dictates your present circumstances." He points to Joseph, Israel's favorite son, and reminds us that his destiny lay in Egypt. Joseph even named his second son Ephraim as a reminder of his call. He declared, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." (Genesis 41:52) Had Joseph not been in Egypt, he would not have been able to rescue his family from the seven-year famine that came upon the land.
 
Since Purim will be celebrated this week with the telling of the story of Esther, let's investigate how she was called to suffer for the salvation of her people. She and her people had been exiled to the Babylonian empire. Having lost her parents, a cousin named Mordecai took her under his wing to care for her. Esther's birth name, Hadassah, was changed to the Persian name, Esther. In changing her name, Esther's nationality and family background were concealed. God made Esther "lovely in form and features" (Esther 2:7) so that when the king was looking for a new queen, she was chosen as one of the candidates for consideration. As Joseph's destiny lay in Egypt; Esther's destiny lay in the citadel of Susa in the Persian empire. She was positioned for a purpose.
 
The call of Esther was one that would require humility and sacrifice. She would live in the king's palace as part of his harem. For one year she would undergo beauty treatments to prepare for one night with the king. Esther won his favor and was chosen as his queen. But, just as Esther received a promotion, a test would come. The enemy saw her destiny and plotted to destroy her promotion. Candice Smithyman wrote in her book, 365 Prophetic revelations from the Hebrew Calendar, "We are never truly promoted until we are faced with a situation where we have to stand for righteousness."
 
Stand for righteousness Esther did as she was faced with the possibility of death for herself and every Jew in the kingdom because of an evil decree from the king's chief noble, Haman. Mordecai said to her, "...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 4:14) Esther determined to go before the king to save her people.
 
We can see how Esther served God and those around her so that she could attain her God-ordained destiny. She had been appointed by and established in her position by man so that God could use her in her calling at the right time. It was not until Esther had been tested that she received her spiritual promotion, her mantle was secured, and a miraculous turn of events occurred. We too can walk in miracles when we embrace God's call on our lives, live by faith even during times of testing, and position ourselves in the presence of our Lord. We have been commissioned to carry Christ's love. This is confirmed in Ephesians 2:10. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (NKJV)