grace given me

Even though my bracket is busted, I’m still all in on March Madness. It’s just too compelling not to be—the intensity in every game. What draws me in most is watching the mix of players on a team. The best teams aren’t just talented; they’re the most aligned. Every player knows their role. The point guard isn’t fighting to be the center. The center isn’t trying to bring the ball down the court. They each step onto the court with clarity, and games are won when they commit to playing their position the best they can. Not perfectly, but courageously. For the sake of something bigger than themselves.

When players start drifting out of position, or hesitating in the moments that require decisiveness—the rhythm of the game begins to unravel and momentum slips. 

It made me wonder how often we lose momentum in our own lives because we’re intimidated by a role that was never ours to begin with—or because we’re too afraid to step into the one that is. I know that hits close to home for me—what about you?

In Esther 4:14, Queen Esther was challenged with words that still resonate today: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” At the time, Esther was being asked to speak up for her people. She wasn’t asked to be everything. She was called to step boldly into the one place God had positioned her, even when it was risky, even when it required courage she wasn’t sure she had yet. Her impact didn’t come from trying to be someone else—it came from embracing exactly who she was and where she had been placed.

You are not randomly placed in your life. You are not an afterthought in God’s design. You have been positioned—intentionally, specifically—for this moment in time. Yet so many of us live paralyzed. We hesitate because the role in front of us feels too small compared to the one we wish we had. Or too big compared to what we feel equipped to carry. Sometimes we shrink back because of fear, pride, past hurt, or the quiet lie that what we offer doesn’t really matter.

But the truth is, we are all part of a body and every part matters. Scripture reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12 that we—as the body of Christ—are one body with many parts, and each part has a purpose. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” and the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, those parts of the body that seem weaker or less honorable are indispensable. They matter deeply, even if they aren’t the ones most often seen or celebrated. 

We all have a part to play. I might do the inviting, but someone else has the exact words my friend needs to hear. You might open your home, while someone else makes the new person feel seen. I might bring the energy or the idea, but someone else brings the steadiness to follow through. You might show up with a meal, while someone else makes sure they get to the appointment.

Romans 12:4-6 echoes this: “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us…”

Scripture goes out of its way to remind us that every part is worthy of special honor. The body cannot function without them. The mission cannot move forward without them. There is no wasted role in the kingdom of God. There is no insignificant assignment. There is only obedience or absence. Participation or passivity. 

If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines—waiting until you feel more ready, more confident, more certain—consider this your invitation back in. You don’t have to play every position. You don’t have to be anyone else. But you do have a responsibility to show up and play yours. Not perfectly, but faithfully. 

So play your position. The one you’ve been given. The one you’ve been dismissing as insignificant. The one you’ve been avoiding. The one that, for such a time as this, is yours.

Lord God most high, creator of heaven and earth, thank you for wanting to partner with us. Thank you for giving us a purpose and equipping us with unique gifts to serve in ways that only we can. You formed us in our mother’s wombs exactly the way you wanted us. You have prepared good works for us to do. You are such a good coach—calling us into the game, giving us vision, training us, and encouraging us all along the way. Amen.