Year of Realization - Day 48: The Lord thwarts evil plans.

“And the king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king's young men told him, "Haman is there, standing in the court." And the king said, "Let him come in."”

‭‭Esther‬ ‭6‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We find an interesting story in 2 Kings about a time when Israel was at war with Aram.

As the story goes, the king of Aram would secretly confer with his officers as to where their forces would next be mobilized in their advancement against Israel.

Well, each time this would happen, the Lord would inform Elisha, who would then inform Israel of where the enemy was going to be. So, time and again the Israelite army avoided the enemy’s plan. Because of this, the Syrian king assumed that one of his officers was a traitor.

“The king of Aram [Syria] became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, “Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?” “It’s not us, my Lord the king,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!””

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Yes, the Bible is full of stories about God repeatedly blocking the plans of the enemy against His people.

Indeed, the modern state of Israel has only been able to continue to exist because of the Lord blocking their enemies’ plans of annihilation.

The Psalmist David knew all too well about the protecting power of the Lord through which his enemies were repeatedly thwarted.

“Although they plot against you, their evil schemes will never succeed. For they will turn and run when they see your arrows aimed at them.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭21‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It’s what they do; evil people plot evil plans to exact against their would-be victims. And—of course—the main victim of an evil person, government, nation, and so on, are those who belong to the Lord. But, make no mistake, the Lord knows every plan in every heart. Worrying what people are out to do to us does no good and actually makes us weaker. Rather, we should put our trust in the Lord, knowing that if we are walking according to His will and purpose, He will thwart every evil plan concocted against us. Or, if He doesn’t thwart the plan, He makes it work for our benefit!

In our opening scripture we see that the king—having just been informed that nothing was done for Mordecai for saving the king’s life—decides to confer with someone about what should be done for Mordecai. And, as God would have it, that person is Haman. You see, he has made haste to come to the palace to make sure that the gallows he is having constructed won’t stand unused.

Well, you could say it definitely won’t go unused; it’s just not going to claim the victim he had planned…

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#yearofrealization