Happenstance?

“When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she told the king on Mordecai’s behalf.” (Esther 2:22 CSB)

Mordecai often hung out at the King’s Gate in the city of Susa. It was a happening place. If you wanted to know the latest news, that was the place to find it. Anybody who was anybody hung out there. It was a place of interest and intrigue.

On one particular day Mordecai heard two of the king’s servants hatching a plot to assassinate the king. He reported the incident to his adopted daughter, Queen Esther, who was also his cousin, the daughter of an uncle who was no longer alive. Esther relayed the information on to King Ahasuerus. When the plot was investigated and verified, the two wayward servants swung from the gallows. Involuntarily, of course.

This event became pivotal in the larger plot of the story of Esther. Was this an example of simply being in the right place at the right time? Or, was it an example of God’s providence? Clearly, Mordecai was in the right place at the right time, but he was there only by the providence of God. The story is far to intricate and involved for it to just be happenstance. God was at work weaving a tapestry of His providential care.

What may often appear as ordinary may actually appear to be God at work providing for His people. We must never underestimate the ordinary. We walk by faith, not by sight.

Lord, We trust Your providential care. Help us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary and see Your hand at work. Amen.