Esther 6:1 – 3 “That night the king could not sleep, so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked.
“Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered.
Have you ever had a sleepless night? I have – the results of everything from hurt feelings to excitement to too much coffee. But whatever the reason, it is frustrating to want to sleep, to know that your body needs sleep, and yet to lie there wide awake. Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, I will find the most boring book I have available, and force myself to read. Before long, I will find my eyelids becoming heavy.
This is what the king did. He couldn’t sleep, so he decided to have the royal minutes read to him. He called in the servant and rolled over to listen to the details of his reign. But suddenly, he heard something that caught his attention. “Wait, back up. That fellow Mordecai, who saved my life – was he ever rewarded?”
The servant backed up, read again, and scanned the pages after the event. “No, sir,” he said. “Nothing was ever done for him.”
Well, friends, I have to tell you that there sure are a lot of coincidences piling up in this book. Vashti just happened to get herself royally flushed. Esther just happened to be chosen as the new queen. Mordecai just happened to overhear these guys plotting to kill Xerxes. And now, on the night before Esther is to plea for the lives of her people, the king happens to have a sleepless night, and the servant just happens to randomly open the scrolls to this point in the minutes.
Coincidences? I think not. God, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, has been bringing these events about, one by one, in order to save the Jewish people.
A sleepless night seems like a rather trivial occurrence. We have all had sleepless nights, at one time or another. But God uses the small events in our lives in big ways. We may think that a certain event is just coincidence. But rest assured, God is always at work in the lives of His people. This story has His fingerprints all over it.
And do you know what? Your life has His fingerprints all over it, too. The moment you choose to become His child, He sets His glorious plan into action. Things may seem trivial, or coincidental, or even meaningless. But God is always working behind the scenes in our lives to bring about His purpose.
That makes me sleep better, just thinking about it.
Dear Father, Thank You for working in my life, even when I’m not aware that You are.
Amen
CHLOE UPDATE: Chloe’s biopsy came back today, and everything looks good. There are no signs of rejection. So, they are changing some things in her medication to see if they can make it all work better for her little body.
This is good news. Keep praying!
That is wonderful news!
Another great lesson from Esther, too!
Thanks, Jeanette! Great to see you, as always!
Dear Renae,
good news about God’s little miracle baby.
I’ll keep reminding ihim.
Passsing-Thru has as his blog introduction “About Me” written;
“A work in progress”.
He is a wise man and I have adopted his word to mine.
Thought they fitted as a comment on your Xerxes post too.
From Felisol
Thanks, Felisol, for everything.
Having a sleepless night tonight and I found your blog. What a great place on the web to come and just settle in and read!
Renae,
Great news on Chloe, and I’ll keep praying.
All the “coincidences” you pointed out reminded me of the saying, “Coincidences are just God’s way of remaining anonymous.”
Hello Soutenus! Welcome to Morning Coffee – it’s great to have you here. I hope you finally got some sleep! I also hope to see you here again soon and often. 🙂
Hi Lillie! What a great quote! And so true. Thank you for your prayers for Chloe, my friend.