I was seven 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 two months, I thought to myself. What kind of evil world is he about to enter? Will he 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 became the newest thing. Suddenly, the internet was literally in the palm of our hands and so was our access to sin. The thought of raising my boys in this technology-obsessed age began to overwhelm me.

I called my friend. 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 classmate jokingly shows it to them? And then they’re hooked. What then?

“In what kind of world are we raising our children?” I asked her. “Will my boys even have a chance?”

My friend reminded me that perversity and temptation are nothing new. Just read through the Old Testament. But God always gives His children strength to overcome. Remember Potiphar’s lustful 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 another ten years

It’s 2020. I’m driving home from work, still trying to process what I just saw. Empty milk, meat and toilet paper aisles, not to mention checkout lines winding halfway through the store. Perhaps you saw it too. 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?”

We reminded one another of this truth: 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 formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Before Jeremiah was even born, God knew Jeremiah would be the “weeping prophet” and speak out against evil during crazy times in Israel’s history.

God also created Esther, knowing full well her plight would not be easy. He knew she would become an orphan and that she’d be in a beauty contest competing for the title of queen. But as Esther’s uncle reminded her, she was born “for such a time as this,” and so are we (Esther 4:14).

God knew my oldest son would be two months away from his high school graduation, and my youngest son would be one lesson away from getting his driver’s license — all during a pandemic.

God knew our plans, and He knew they would be changing. God even knew that racial tensions would erupt in the midst of a pandemic.

But God has given our children and us everything we need… not just to make it through this season, but to thrive and be His voice of hope.

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 fazes God.

Before He created you and me, He knew us and what was in store for us. We have been appointed “for such a time as this.”

Used with permission by Global Media Outreach from Binu Samuel. This article was first published on June 29th, 2020 at https://proverbs31.org.