We have all heard the phrase “right on time, just in time.” The story about the Runaway Car is one of those stories where a matter of seconds made a difference. But before I tell you about my mother’s runaway car, I want to share with you about Esther in the Old Testament.

One of the most compelling Bible stories that illustrates being in the right place at the right time is the story of Esther. The book of Esther tells how a young Jewish woman becomes queen of Persia and uses her position to save her people. If you haven’t read about Esther, here is a quick link to Bible Gateway. One of the most quoted verses is Esther 4:14.

“If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 (nlt).

My mother’s driveway was slightly sloped. Across the road, there was a field and a pond. For some unknown reason, her car, which was parked in her carport, rolled backward down the driveway, made a turn in the road, and then headed into the field. It stopped just shy of the pond.

A man in a truck was coming down the road just as the car rolled in front of him, turned, and headed into the field. A few seconds earlier, he would have broadsided my mother’s car, or a few seconds later, her car would have broadsided his truck.

Right on time! A few seconds made all the difference.

The man knocked on my mother’s door to tell her about her runaway car. If he had not witnessed it, we would have always wondered why her car ended up in the field next to the pond.

Thankfully, we knew “why,” but we were left to wonder through the years “how,” without a driver, her car backed out of the driveway and headed to the pond. Guess it was a hot day, and it needed to cool off!

Like the man in the truck coming down the road or Esther being in the position of Queen to save her people, perhaps you also had a time in your life when you were in the right place at the right time to make a difference for others.

God’s timing for us is always perfect.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”