I am currently doing a Bible study called “Discerning the Voice of God” by Pricilla Shirer. Throughout my Bible study I’ve been learning about hearing God’s voice. This past week, one of the lessons was about Great Expectations; expecting and posturing ourselves to hear from God at all times and in all things.

Most stories in the Bible show God at work in His people’s lives. The story of Esther is a great Bible story that shows how the Lord works in all circumstances. The book Esther follows Esther, a Jewish girl who was selected by the King of Persia to become his new wife. A plot to annihilate the Jews (God’s people) was uncovered and her cousin, Mordecai, reminded her of the providential hand of God in giving her favor with Persia’s king, shown in Esther 4:14 “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Haman, a high ranking official, hated Mordecai and is the one who made the plot to destroy the Jews. Throughout this book, God’s name is not even mentioned. But, Esther is a remarkable story of how God had His providential fingerprints from beginning to end. Esther 6 shows how God’s hand is in everything.

Let me summarize this chapter for you:

• The king (Esther’s husband) can’t sleep
• He looks for something to read to help him sleep
• He comes across a record of Mordecai’s service to him; Mordecai had exposed two of the king’s assassins.
• Haman shows up, seeking permission to put Mordecai to death.
• The king didn’t know that Haman came for permission to put Mordecai to death. So the king asked how to honor someone who saved the king. Haman thought the king wanted to honor him but the king really wanted to honor Mordecai for saving his life. Haman answered with how he would like to be honored.
• In answering the king mistakenly, Haman sets the ball rolling that leads to his own demise, the elevation of Mordecai, and the salvation of the Jews.

These “coincidental” happenings woven into the story seem coincidental but are the hand of God, working everything out for His people. This kind of stuff that happened in Esther “just happen” when God is involved in it-just as He is involved with you right now, in the midst of your hurts, fears, and disappointments. I encourage you to posture yourself to “look, observe, be astonished and wonder”- to be expectantly hopeful and eager for Him, believing God’s at work even when He may seem distant.

Ask God for vision to recognize where His hand is already at work. Your personal problem is important, but is a small sliver in the grand scope of all God is doing.

I want to encourage you with this, “Broaden your vantage point, and prepare to be amazed at what God is already doing”.