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By Mike Caton

Exodus 9:16, “But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Pharaoh is definitely in a bad position, whether he realizes it or not. God says he is using him, in fact has raised him up in order to show his power and bring honor to his name. It seems clear that Pharaoh was a stubborn and hard-hearted man from the beginning. And I suppose we can rationalize that, he was considered a god in the land of Egypt. His every whim was granted and he was denied nothing. To be sure, he never dreamed there was a real God in the universe, one who had ordained all of these events that are taking place. But God knows a man’s heart long before he does, and so God is using this man to make his point.

Have you ever thought that God might be doing the same thing with you? Not in the negative sense that Pharaoh experienced, but in a positive one? Who knows that maybe God has put you in the place you are, given you the disposition you have, provided you with the talents and abilities you possess for a very specific reason, I fully believe that God puts us in places where he wants us to be. And I believe we are often the very one that can do what God wants us to do. Maybe we don’t see it, maybe we don’t think about it. But we have relationships with people no one else does, we have influence with others no one can duplicate, we are in places no one else can go. Maybe, just maybe, God has put you there for a reason, to show his power and his glory.

You don’t have to be the ruler of a nation. You just have to be the you that God made you to be. You just have to put God first, you have to follow his leading, you have to want to please him. You have to be committed to him. And who knows what you and God can accomplish together.

Father, use me for your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works as a full time AEMT with Hyde County EMS. If you would like to receive daily devotions in your inbox, email mikecaton@centurylink.net.

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