Esther, Day 4
Esther 6
As I grow older, I find myself gaining a greater appreciation for God’s timing. The reason for this is that I continue to encounter moments where things line up in a way that I could not orchestrate. In our text for today, there is a series of events that God lined up that reveal to a family the futility of their efforts.
The king could not sleep, which leads to him asking for a book to be read to him. The book that he requested contains details about how Mordecai saved the king’s life, which leads the king to ask the question, “Was anything done for Mordecai?” Just then, Haman arrives and the king asks Haman, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” Haman, in his pride, thinks the king is going to honor him and gives an elaborate response. Finally, the king tells Haman to go and do what he proposed for Mordecai.
After this was over, Haman returned home in mourning, and those closest to him said, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.” There was a recognition by the people closest to Haman that God was in control and there was nothing he could do to succeed against God.
This story is sandwiched between two dinners that Esther throws for the king and Haman. I spent quite a bit of time over the years looking for a reason as to why Esther didn’t speak up on behalf of her people the first time when the king asks, “What is your request?” The only answer that was given in all my research was, “it wasn’t time.” In between these two dinners is Esther Chapter 6, where God reminds the king of what Mordecai did for the king.
The point I’m getting at here isn’t some fatalistic view of God where we are all puppets in his play. Instead, we need to take note of God’s work around us. When we pray and pray and things don’t seem to be moving fast enough, perhaps it’s not in God’s timing. We also should rest in God’s timing instead of trying to rush things and accomplish them in our own power, and trust that even though things may not be as we would desire them to be, God is at work.
For centuries the Jewish people longed for the coming messiah. Romans 5:6 says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” At the right time, God brought about the salvation of mankind. Continue to pray, continue to ask God for the desires of your heart, but let us not lose heart when God says, “Not yet,” and continue to be faithful and obedient where He has us at that moment.
Adam Deering