My Bible reading schedule for the week took me through Esther, the book of the Bible famous for the absence of any reference to God. Of course, the discerning reader will plainly see the Lord’s providential hand working at every turn in the story. In Esther, it’s not the devil in the details, though he is obviously present, but a sovereign God orchestrating all things according to his purpose. The refusal of Queen Vashti to come at the king’s request, the exposure of an assassination plot, and the king’s insomnia were all under the sway of divine providence.

Pondering this biblical narrative, I wondered how I could make a personal application to my current situation. For at that moment I was laid up, sick at home, battling a bout with pertussis (a.k.a. “whooping cough”). Indeed, if the Lord is in all the details, and he is working all things after the counsel of his will, might there be a reason for my illness? What purpose could this possibly be serving?

I confess that I am often dismissive of the truth of God’s involvement with the “details.” It’s easy to think we operate independently of the Lord’s control and that he must adjust for human freedom. And we would be wrong. For if anything is out of his control, then nothing is in his control. At this point, a quote from C.H. Spurgeon came to mind:

“I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes—that every particle of spray that dashes against the ship has its orbit as well as the sun in the heavens—that the chaff from the hand of the reaper is steered as the stars in their courses.”

Lying on my sickbed, reading Esther, I was brought to rejoice in this remarkable truth and to consider how best to align my thoughts, desires, and plans with such knowledge. And then another quote came to my mind, this one from the 16th century pastor Jeremy Taylor:

“Nothing is intolerable that is necessary. Now God hath bound thy trouble upon thee by His special providence, and with a design to try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown thee. These cords thou canst not break, and therefore lie thou down gently, and suffer the hand of God to do what He pleases.”

I was suddenly brought to a place of great joy and peace, and of true worship. In the midst of suffering, I found such a satisfaction in God that I would have wanted to be sick. It was like, “Aha! This the Lord deemed necessary for me.” So then, necessary for what? And though I may never know all the reasons, praying for guidance and understanding I am led to consider several conclusions: God’s purpose was for my own good in coming to rejoice in him. Or perhaps it was for the good of others who, perhaps, reading this, needed the reminder. And of course, that the Lord be glorified in all things.

Things certainly worked out for Esther. God’s people were spared a death sentence and their enemies destroyed. The Lord’s hand was evident from beginning to end. And it’s no less true today, in your life. Minor frustrations, annoying delays, bad news, and evil plots are not meaningless events that randomly happen to us. They are the purposeful and providential acts of a sovereign God who is for us, working all things together for our good and his glory.