JANUARY 19 - The Littlest Things

JANUARY 19 - The Littlest Things

 

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. — ESTHER 6:1

 

One night King Xerxes, the emperor of Persia, can’t get to sleep — even with servants to fan away the heat, musicians to serenade him, a harem full of companions, and endless wine to drink himself into oblivion. Who knows why he tosses and turns on his pillow? But instead of calling for the fanners, musicians, wine stewards, and concubines, he calls for someone to read him the chronicles of his reign (guaranteed to make anyone nod off ).

 

As the reader drones on, an obscure passage gets Xerxes thinking (read about it in chapter 6 of Esther). What he learns that night in the pages of those chronicles precisely prepares Xerxes for an empire-altering request that his wife, Queen Esther, will make of him the next day. The little known passage tips his mental scales — he will grant the request. And his granting it will end up saving the Jewish race from annihilation. A great people will be spared. And centuries later, this people will produce a young boy who will grow up to die for the sins of the world. All because an emperor could not sleep.

 

Your life is no exception to God’s delight in arranging coincidences. God uses the most innocuous, everyday, bland circumstances to engineer the most earth-shattering and significant moments in your life. How he does it is one of the great mysteries. But he does it. Totally natural. But mind-bogglingly complicated.

 

Father God, thank you for the story of Queen Esther and how you used a minor thing to circumvent a major holocaust. It all resulted in the preservation of your people, as well as the birth of Jesus. I praise you for the small things you arrange in my life . . . and how they are a part of your marvelous plan for my good!