Insight for Living

Guest (Male): When a wicked leader is carrying out his sinister agenda, we wonder why God doesn't intervene. Why would He allow innocent people to suffer? If we're not careful, we could mistakenly assume that God is either passive or indifferent. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll reminds us that neither is true.

Even so, we can't dismiss the painful process of waiting on God to break His silence. The waiting is real and very hard. But this is also real: No one ultimately stands in the way of God's sovereign plan. Chuck is teaching from Esther chapter 7.

Bill Meyer: Isn't it significant that God, in His timing, wanted to introduce the King to Mordecai? And it took two banquets. The point of it all is that in the mystery of these changing of events, subtle things occur that the sensitive heart picks up. And my friend, that's what wisdom is about. That's Christian maturity.

And rather than thrashing about on the lake, thinking, "I will not make it. I will never hear a voice," we begin to watch for turns of events. I mean, right after he gets out of this sleepless night, who's in the courtyard or in the court of the King but Haman? Haman. He has splinters in his hands from building the gallows on which to hang Mordecai.

And the King called him. We laughed at that last time, remember? The King calls him in, says, "Who should we honor?" Haman thinks, "Who's better than me?" I'm glad you think that, but that's not my plan. I'm going to honor Mordecai. And sure enough, Haman is the man who takes Mordecai out for a walk on a horse, proclaiming his great name. I'd call that a change of events.

Now, my point is this. It is easy to live like a dullard. It is easy to anticipate that this year will be very much like last and the one before, when in fact it may be altogether different. Here's the tip I want to leave with you. When events begin to turn, realize none of it is merely coincidental. Remember that. Take the word "coincidental" out of your vocabulary.

Along with "luck," you can throw them both out. You don't need them anymore. Nothing is coincidental. Isn't it coincidental how when you talked to Bobby this afternoon, he sounded different than he sounded three days ago? Be sensitive. Isn't it interesting that when the boss came in today, he spoke in a different way of my work than he did several days ago? In His time, in His time, He begins to move in subtle change methods.

When you get to Chapter 7, there is a sudden change in plans. The second banquet is attended by Haman and the King and the Queen. The conversation between the Queen and the King breaks the silence as the King asks her in verse two, "What is your petition?" You know he's asked that two other times besides this one? Chapter 5, verse 3: "What is your request?" Chapter 5, verse 6: "And what is your request?" She never answered.

Chapter 7, verse 2, she answers. Sharp lady. It wasn't right. It wasn't the time. And she sensed it. Would it interrupt our thoughts too much for me to ask this question of you? Are you a sensitive Christian? Just because you have a lot of information, do you feel the need to say it all? Or do you pace it? You time it. You wait till the right moment.

"What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you, up to half the kingdom." I love it that Esther, though like all of us is trapped in that little cage of life, that little space of sight, she hasn't told all that's on her heart. She hasn't even told him until this moment that she's Jewish. But now she tells him. Listen to her answer.

"If I found favor in your sight, O King, and if it please the King, let my life be given me as my petition and my people as my request. That's my petition. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated." That's exactly what Haman had planned. I read it earlier in the series.

Now, if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I wouldn't take your time. You have many things too important to worry about. But he wants to kill us. Look at the King's response. Talk about a sudden change. I mean, look. The King asked Queen Esther, "Who is he? And where is he who would presume to do that?"

You know what I want to say? Where in the world were you, friend, when you signed the document just a few days ago? Remember this. Remember. We live in a world of preoccupied people. They too live in a fog. Who knows how many edicts he signed that day? Who knows how much was on his mind? After all, Kings have a lot to think about, like what's for lunch.

How much is in the treasury? No, you know I'm being facetious. The King has decisions to make, and the way Haman handled it, I'm sure it was veiled in all the legalese he could put together, and the King signs it thinking the man knows what he's doing. Suddenly, things have changed.

Don't you ever tell me for the rest of our relationship together that something is absolutely permanent, or I'll remind you of the breaking down of the Berlin Wall. Not one of us would have thought that thing would come down. God can move in the heart of a King. He can change the mind of your mate. He can move in affairs of your neighborhood.

He can alter decisions of Presidents alike. It means nothing to Him because none of His world is limited by space, time, visible, tangible. He lives in the realm that transcends all that. He is all-powerful, and He's ready to move. And it's in His time He does make it beautiful. Beautiful.

So she answers with the same kind of courage. Verse 6: "Who is responsible? A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman." Now, Haman hasn't had the best of days for the last 24 to 48 hours. Probably thinks about now, this was not a good day to get up. He became terrified before the King and the Queen. Naturally.

I mean, we all are saying, "Finally!" You know why? Because we want justice. We want evil to pay for it, and we want good rewarded. It's built in our system. And Haman ought not be running loose calling the shots. They ought to finish him off. And now the King says, "That's the plan."

Harbonah, verse 9, one of the eunuchs, says there are gallows standing at Haman's house, 50 cubits high. You talk about a surprising climax. All the time he was building them, he was just picturing in his mind Mordecai hanging on them. Finally, that day is going to come. Haman made that for Mordecai, who spoke good on behalf of the King. And the King said, "Hang him on it."

I love it! Not because I like seeing guys hanging on gallows, but this is in His time. This is His way. This is how God works. And I'll tell you, when you haven't manipulated it, you just watch it with great delight alongside others who are as surprised as you. Now, let me tell you something. Humans call this kind of thing irony. God calls it sovereignty.

God calls it sovereignty. So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the King's anger subsided. You know what else? So does ours. Now, the question remains, since we are trapped in the cage, this little space: How can I be sensitive to God's interventions?

What are some things that will help me? Because I don't have a book that I can go to that has the answers in the back. I can't unravel the knots. I can't get the tapestry turned over to read why, which would help me, I think. So, I want to help here. I don't want to be glib, and I don't want to be uncaring because I realize some of you like Job struggle with God's silence, which you're convinced perhaps by now is His absence.

Please, He is not absent. He may be silent, but He's not absent. So let me share with you how life can be handled on the lake in the fog. Number one. I have three thoughts. The fog on your lake is neither accidental nor fatal. The fog on your lake is neither accidental nor fatal. So while swimming, listen for His voice.

Some days you will panic and dog-paddle like mad. You'll try various approaches. Breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke, floating. All the time you want to be sure you're listening for His voice. Now, let's be careful here. It will come in various ways. I get nervous about people who tell me they hear God's voice. I think, "That's fine."

Often want to know if they're seeing a good therapist. I get nervous about people that every parking spot is from God. I call them bumper sticker Christians, and they're scary people. They're spooky. I'm not talking about that. God gave you a mind. God gave you reason. God gave you a sensitivity that's built into your system, each one of us different from each other from the other.

And so God wishes to reveal His will to you and to teach you while waiting. So while waiting, don't look for spooky stuff. Get into His word. Get on your knees. Counsel with a few that have reasonable counsel, solidly biblical in their philosophy, and wait. Wait. Wait. While swimming, listen for His voice.

Don't try to read the stars. Stay away from people that tell you they can. The answers are not on your palm. Stay away from people that read that. Nor in the newspaper. I've never found God's will in the newspaper. Sometime I've questioned God's will while reading the newspaper. However, there are tangible things to connect with.

Passages of scripture that bring comfort, that bring insight. Certain messages that you can hear. Certain people you respect. Tap into those and wait. Listen with a sensitive ear. Second. The workings of our God are related to our crises and unrelated to our clocks. The workings of our God are related to our crises but unrelated to our clocks.

That's why God doesn't care if this is the last day you can buy that car on sale. It doesn't bother God that it is a quarter after 12:00 or 10 minutes to 1:00 in the morning. So, while waiting, look beyond the present. You know the best way to do that? Pray. Make your life a life of prayer. Tell Him, in anguish if necessary, tell Him the horror of the waiting.

Express your panic. Tell Him you're trapped right here. You don't know how you can stay afloat much longer. You can't hear His voice, but you need to see beyond the pain of the present. When I pray, that happens to me. It helps me when I handle some pieces of mail. It helps me when I can't quite grasp a meaning of something I'm struggling with.

When I'm dealing with big decisions. When I'm working with difficult people. When something in my own life is sort of twisted and struggling. I find prayer gives me a calming perspective. You find that too, don't you? Let's stay at that. Now, the third is this. The surprises in store are not merely ironic or coincidental.

They are sovereignly designed. While anticipating, trust Him for justice. You know what? You may not live to see the justice, but it will come, or He is not just. And you know He is. I have found while in the fog that my great temptation is either to doubt or to deny. Maybe they're the same.

To doubt or to deny that He is even at work. And then you know what I'm brought back to more often than anything else when I think of something that looks like it's the absolute end? But it is really, I look back later and say, "It's the beginning." You know what I think of? The Cross. The Roman officials applauded.

The Jewish officials clicked their heels. They must have drunk half into the night. "Finally, we got rid of Him! That is over!" How would you like it if I said to you today, but coincidentally, He was raised from the dead? What an incredible coincidence! You won't let me say that. That's heresy!

And I won't let you say when God comes through with a change in His plans where you said, "It is finished," I won't let you say as it turns towards something greater that that was coincidental. What looked like the ending was in fact the beginning. Listen to me today. There are some of you who know the words to the tune we have sung so often.

"In His time, in His time, God makes all things beautiful in His time," and you don't even know God. You don't. You know words about Him. You even carry a book that He wrote. You may be even bow in prayer when Christians pray. You're probably at your favorite local church more than some Christians, and you're proud of that.

But you are lost. You see, there's another part of that verse that says, or that song that says, "My life to You I bring. May each song I have to sing be to You a lovely thing in Your time." That's a person who has been to and even beyond the Cross. Let me tell you the smartest thing you can do.

Come absolutely as you are to the place that will make a difference, and that's the foot of the Cross. Look up. The most unjust event is before you hanging on a cross. The only perfect one who ever lived, dead. Bloodstains on His head, on His arms, on His feet, on His back. And He screamed, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Because in that little tiny space on earth in the present, God was silent. But He wasn't absent. He turned His back. Sin was borne, and God said "Amen" when He raised Him from the grave. It is all in motion. Smartest thing you could do is to come to Jesus Christ just exactly as you are.

Tell Him you're a sinner. You've nothing to hide. Believe me, it won't surprise Him. He'll take you just like you are. Your hypocrisy, your filthy thoughts, your impure motives, your pride, your impatience, your religious morality. He'll take it all and He'll forgive you and take you home to be with Him because of His amazing grace.

He'll take a wretch like you. I know that because He took one like me. It's smart to do that. Do that now. Don't put this off. How stupid to leave unprepared to die. Take time out to give your life to Christ. Let's bow together.

Bill Meyer: I will not beg you, but I will invite you. Since the Lord Jesus Christ has taken the penalty that you and I deserved, which was death for sin, and since He's paid the price and has been raised from the grave and lives victorious over it all in a realm that transcends time and space and events and people, then He is well able to woo you into His own family. And I'll trust His Spirit to do that. Come today.

Chuck Swindoll: Thank you, dear Heavenly Father, for Your hand on all our lives. How grateful we are that even though we may not hear Your voice in an audible way or see Your shadow cast across the wall in the room where we're sitting, we know that You are there. For You are everywhere. And best of all, You are not only there, You are in charge.

You're in full control of the events that are transpiring and those events yet future that will transpire. Some have experienced a turnaround set of events that have changed their lives in many ways. For some, these events have been very difficult for them to endure. For others, they've turned toward the better, and these who have enjoyed the change have given their praise and thanks to You because You have been the author of them.

But whatever the event, Lord, thank You for watching over us so carefully. For taking such good care of the details of our lives. For not being aloof and distant and out of touch, but for being near and touched with our struggles, as well as rejoicing with us in our joys. Thank You for this story we have heard today. Not just a story, not a tale, but a true record of Your hand in the life of Your people who were totally dependent on You for deliverance.

And now, Father, I pray for those who have never come to You through Your Son, Jesus Christ. They've never known spiritual deliverance from the slavery of the sin that they cannot stop. I pray that You would bring them to this crossroads as they come to the foot of the Cross and acknowledge Your Son as their Lord and Savior. And that You will make this for them the sovereign turning point of their lives as they move out of darkness into Your brilliant light. From death to life itself. I ask this in the name of our sovereign King and Savior, Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Bill Meyer: God is never aloof, never distant, and never indifferent to the details of our lives. Whether we're enduring a painful season of waiting or celebrating a sovereign turn of events, God is near and He's in control. Insight for Living has assembled a variety of Bible study tools for this series on Esther.

In fact, there's a special bundle that includes the Searching the Scriptures Bible study workbook, a full-length biography of Esther written by Chuck, and the complete collection of 12 sermons on CD. To access these resources right now, go to insight.org/offer. Have you ever thought of yourself as a steward of the mysteries of God? Probably not, but it's a title that Paul assumed in the first century. Here's Chuck.

Chuck Swindoll: I want you to sit with a phrase for just a moment. Six words from the Apostle Paul, writing to that ragged, carnal, deeply confused church in Corinth. "Stewards of the mysteries of God." That's what Paul called himself. That's what he called the Corinthian leaders. And if you've trusted Christ, that's part of your calling too, to help steward the mysteries of God.

Think about what that meant in Corinth. That city was a mess. Sophisticated, worldly, impressed with itself, running every direction but the right one. And right in the middle of it, God planted a church and said, "You are the caretakers of My story." The Gospel was brand new to the Gentiles. They were outsiders their whole life, strangers to the promises, aliens to the covenant.

And suddenly, the mystery was revealed. Jew and Gentile alike, whosoever will. The Cross swings open for everyone. And from that moment on, the stewardship passed to us. Can you imagine anything more humbling? God didn't entrust this story to governments or institutions or people who had it all together. He entrusted it to us, ordinary people.

That stewardship is not a burden. It's the greatest privilege I have ever known, and it's precisely why Insight for Living exists. Every broadcast is an act of stewardship. Every Bible study, every post, every program that goes out over the airwaves and across the internet. That's us together, faithfully tending the mystery we've been entrusted to proclaim.

June 30th is almost here. As we close this fiscal year, I want to ask you, fellow steward, to invest in this sacred responsibility we share. Your gift keeps the story going for our generation, for the next one, boldly, together. It's the Cross that we proclaim.

Bill Meyer: As Christians, we are caretakers of God's story. And today, we're inviting you to join Chuck Swindoll and the entire team here at Insight for Living on this sacred responsibility to proclaim the Cross. Here's how to get in touch. Call us at 800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org/donate.

To express our gratitude for your partnership, we'd like to send you a brand new booklet that Chuck's written called "The Cross We Proclaim." In it, Chuck returns to the ancient words of the Apostle Paul and asks a searching question: Have you truly come to grips with the message of the Cross? Not as a doctrine to affirm, but as a transforming reality to live by.

This booklet could change everything. The booklet is yours when you make a gift to support the ministry of Insight for Living. To send a contribution in the mail, just address your envelope to: Insight for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas, 75034. You can also call us at 800-772-8888 or give online at insight.org/donate.

I'm Bill Meyer. Chuck Swindoll describes the massive breakthrough in Esther's story and the implications for our times, Friday, on Insight for Living.

Guest (Male): The preceding message, "God's Surprising Sovereignty," was copyrighted in 1989, 1990, 1997, 2005, 2018, and 2026, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2026 by Charles R. Swindoll, Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.