SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

Delayed Gratitude

Words of Faith Final

Delayed Gratitude
Words of Faith 6-17-2021
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2008, 2021
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><<><

Esther 6
     [1]  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. [2] It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the King's officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
    [3] "What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?" the King asked.
    "Nothing has been done for him," his attendants answered.
    [4] The King said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the King about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had erected for him.
    [5] His attendants answered, "Haman is standing in the court."
    "Bring him in," the King ordered.

       In the evening after Esther's first banquet, Xerxes had trouble sleeping.  Actually, there were many reasons for Xerxes to have a sleepless night. First, here was a man who had allowed his selfish lust to alienate his wife and then his harsh words to banish the lovely queen Vashti.
      But now, Xerxes had agreed to a price to allow Haman to exterminate the Jewish people throughout Persia. Wow. It is amazing that he only had trouble sleeping on this ONE night. This was no simple case of indigestion.  And the fact is, we can see that God was very much at work on this sleepless night.
       To help get to sleep, the King ordered a reading of the chronicles of his reign.  It was then that Xerxes realized that he had failed to reward Mordecai for saving his life.  Interestingly, this recognition of Mordecai is much more helpful at this later date than earlier.  
        Sometimes we do not understand God's timing or His delay of recognition, but He is always at work and always on time.  We also now understand why the timing had not been right for Esther to reveal Haman's plot.  This honoring of Haman set the stage for the huge reversal needed to bring about justice.
       Have you had any sleepless nights?   They are no fun.  Hopefully, you don't have near as much on your heart as Xerxes did.  But the night can be an important time to listen to God.  It can be an important time for soul searching, reading over the chronicles of life.  No, it is not usually helpful to commiserate over things that cannot be changed.  But there can be much gained when we listen to God