Devotional on Esther

2019 – Colonial Beach, VA

Sometimes a book is not just a book
Esther 6: That night the king couldn’t sleep.
Even as Haman dreams of power and revenge king Xerxes is having a sleepless night. He decides a cure for his insomnia might be a bit of light reading so he has the daily journal brought to him and as he reads it he’s reminded of Mordecai’s heroism in foiling the plot against his own life. What an interesting set of coincidences! The king can’t sleep, Haman is planning to take Mordecai’s life in the morning, the king asks for some journals to read and some unnamed servant just happens to pick the journal that includes Mordecai’s heroism. We know there’s more going on here than circumstance. In all this we see the hand of God. Does this teach me that every time I can’t sleep God has something to tell me or that everything I happen to read is supposed to remind me of something important? Of course not! Sometimes I can’t sleep because I’m simply too wound up from my day. Sometimes I read stuff that’s just a plain waste of time. But not always. As a worshipper of God I believe that God is active in this world and that he’s a communicating God. Sometimes, therefore, a book is just a book. Other times, though, it’s a message from God. The important thing for me is to be aware of that and to remain open, to paraphrase J.B. Phillips, on the “God-ward” side of life.
Take Away: Don’t be surprised when the Lord shows up in surprising ways!

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