Hard times can make people brave. “If I had not survived Mariupol, I would not have gone to work as a paramedic now. I wouldn’t have had enough courage,” says Mr. Chornobryvets. He decided to stay on the battlefield until Ukraine wins the war.

God puts people in the right places at the right times throughout history. You know that if you have read the book of Esther! After she becomes queen of a powerful empire, Esther’s adoptive father Mordecai asks her, “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Everyone faces hard times. Sometimes, these hard times prepare us for great work later. What “such a time as this” is God preparing for you? Only He knows. His plans are good.

Clara Barton. This “Angel of the Battlefield” founded the Red Cross, an organization that sends medical help in emergencies. What prepared her for this big job? Acting as a nurse for two years to her brother when he injured his head.

Charles Dickens was a great writer. He wrote huuuuge books, often about orphans or kids who were poor. These books changed the way people thought about their disadvantaged neighbors. Mr. Dickens showed that it often wasn’t their fault they were poor. What made Mr. Dickens ready for this task? He was a poor kid. He did not grow up in a wealthy family. His father was even sent to debtor’s prison! (That’s jail for people who owe money and can’t pay.)

Harriet Tubman was an enslaved person in America in the 1800s. She escaped. And then she went back. Why? To guide other enslaved people to freedom. Now that was brave! Suffering made her want to help others.