August 19

Esther 4-7

1 Corinthians 12:1-26

Psalms 36:1-12

Proverbs 21:21-22

That night the king had trouble sleeping, so he ordered an attendant to bring the book of the history of his reign so it could be read to him.

~ Esther 6:1

This part of Tuesday's reading really stood out to me. The king couldn't sleep so he had his attendant read him something dull! But in doing so, he discovered something that had been overlooked. Mordecai had stopped an assassination attempt and he had never been rewarded for this. So on the morning that Haman was to have Mordecai executed, the king ordered to have him honored.

Let's think about what would have happened if the king wasn't suffering from insomnia that night. Haman would have probably gotten permission to have Mordecai executed, too late for Esther to intervene at the banquet that night.

I love it when we see God's timing and plan work out perfectly. Losing sleep is not a good experience. I'm sure it was distressing for the king. But without it, Mordecai would have been dead and maybe everything else would have played out differently. Maybe even the king's reaction to Esther revealing Haman's plans.

I know it's hard to see what God's plan might be when we're in the middle of difficult situation. But we should always trust that He can see the beginning and the end and He knows exactly what to do.