Daily EncouragementSample

There must have been few sleepless nights in all of history which were more significant than this one! So the providence of God affects all time: “That night the king could not sleep.” It had to be “that night.” The next would have been too late, for Haman was coming in the morning to request that Mordecai be hanged on the gallows he had erected. And “that night” it was, for he who dwells in eternity has his hand upon each passing hour of time.

And the providence of God invades those who occupy high places: “That night the king could not sleep.” Not only “the king’s heart” but also his waking and sleeping hours are “in the hand of the Lord” (Prov. 21:1).

Again, the providence of God touches all circumstances: “that night the king could not sleep.” From the eternal viewpoint, it is God who decides what book the king will call for when sleep refuses to come. One sleepless night in the hand of God can change the course of history, the destiny of a nation and the lives of individuals.

“Heaven rules” (Dan. 4:26) - we are taught this truth in many ways, but nowhere more vividly than in this story of the king’s sleepless night.