Esther 1:3 (NIV)

and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.

Esther 2:12 (NIV)

Before a girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.

Esther 2:16 (NIV)

She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

            When we read this story of Esther it all runs together as a single event. We often miss the details of time involved. The story starts in the third year of Xerxes reign. We don’t know how much time passes before Esther comes into the picture, but we do know that before she sees the king she goes through a twelve-month beauty treatment. We also know that she is established as queen in the seventh year of Xerxes reign. The first two chapters of Esther cover at least four years.

            In a day of twenty-two minute Netflix shows, forty-five minute dramas, and movies that drag on for almost two hours, it is hard for us to imagine a four-year drama playing out. We want a quick fix. Imagine Mordecai walking in front of the King’s harem every day for a year just to make sure that Esther was okay. Esther 3:7 says that it is in the twelfth year of Xerxes reign that the plot to destroy the Jews surfaced. Between chapter 1, when Queen Vashti is deposed, and chapter 3, when the plot to destroy the Jews is revealed, nine years have passed. Esther has been queen for five years. Mordecai has keep watch from the outside for at least six years. This story didn’t unfold in a two-hour movie plot.

            Here is the amazing thing about this story. Nine years before anyone knew anything about a plot to destroy the People of God, God knew. Nine years before Haman hatched his plot, God was already working behind the scenes to set up their protection. Nine years. We don’t always understand why things happen the way they do. Looking back, we can sometimes see how events were orchestrated by God’s sovereignty. Sometimes we can’t even see it then. Yet God is never caught by surprise.

Did it just happen that Esther was queen in the twelfth year of Xerxes reign when Haman hatched his plot? Did God put her in place just in case someone tried something insidious? What if the plot had come earlier when Vashti was still queen? God’s timing was impeccable. He was in no hurry. He was not panicked by Haman plot. He was not caught off guard by Xerxes poor decisions. God knows the end from the beginning. He is always years ahead of his enemies. He works his purposes in his time.

Sometimes things seem to be out of control. Sometimes it feels like God has forgotten us. Sometimes is appears that the Enemy has gotten the upper hand. Never forget, God anticipated his moves before he even thought of them. If he knew there would be a plot against his people years before the plot was conceived, do you think he knew about your cancer before it showed up? Do you think he knew about the death of a loved one before it was even on your radar? Do you think he knew that you were going to lose your job, or your spouse was going to leave you, or that those you thought were allies would become enemies?

None of this takes God by surprise. None of it sends him into a panic. What we forget is that he is not in a hurry. He is not playing out a drama in forty-five minutes. He is playing out a drama that began before the day of creation, and will culminate with a new creation. He is not there to make us happy. If that were the case, then he would have left Esther with Mordecai right up until the day they would have been killed by Haman’s henchmen. God is working a bigger purpose for his own glory. We are chess pieces on his board. The queen is never about the queen. The pawn is never about the pawn. They both exist for a higher purpose. Whether you are a pawn or a queen, God is working out that purpose in and through you. Don’t get in a hurry. Just trust him. Don’t get anxious. Just trust him. Don’t get impatient. Just trust him. He knows what he is doing.