A Big Coincidence
30 Days in Ruth and Esther - day 27
There is a funny episode of an old sitcom where two characters argue about coincidences. One insists there can be “big coincidences,” while the other argues that there are no big or small coincidences, only coincidences. Part of the humor is just hearing them say the word “coincidences” over and over again.
I think about that scene when I read Esther chapter six. But when I read this chapter, I find myself leaning toward the idea of “big coincidences,” at least at first glance. Part of the reason they seem so big is because there are so many of them stacked together in such a short span of time.
The king can’t sleep.
He decides the best way to pass the time is to have the royal records read to him.
The reader happens to choose the section where Mordecai’s act of loyalty is recorded.
At that exact moment, Haman walks in, intending to ask for Mordecai’s execution.
And then the king asks Haman how he should honor a man, without naming Mordecai.
It’s all happening in one night. One moment leads to the next with almost unbelievable timing.
A lot of coincidence all coming together at once.
But by the end of the chapter, even Haman’s own household sees it clearly. When he tells his wife and advisors what has happened, they understand that this is more than bad timing. Something is working against him—and for Mordecai. There is an unseen hand at work.
What we call coincidence, the Bible calls providence.
There are no random nights in the kingdom of God.
The king couldn’t sleep...but God wasn’t tired.
The king turned a page...but God was turning a story.
Haman made a plan...but God had already written the ending.
We experience moments like this in our own lives. We run into someone we haven’t seen in years hundreds of miles from home. A delay keeps us from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A conversation we didn’t plan ends up changing everything.
Coincidence...or providence?
What feels like chance is often something more. Something greater. Someone greater.
God was working through a rapid string of “coincidences” to preserve Mordecai. And if we are honest, many of us can look back on our own lives and see a similar pattern, especially when it comes to our salvation.
We can trace the steps now. The people we met. The places we went. The things we heard. At the time, it all seemed ordinary…even random.
But it wasn’t.
In one church I pastored, an older couple once stopped by the office. They lived in another city, but years earlier they had lived where I was serving. They told me they were thankful for that church. They had never been members, but they had become Christians because of its ministry.
One evening, they went out for a walk. As they passed by the church building, there was a tent revival going on. They both loved music, so they stopped outside the tent to listen. When the singing ended and the preaching began, they stayed. And right there, standing outside, without anyone inside even knowing, they both trusted Christ as Lord and Savior.
Years later, they were still walking faithfully with Him.
All because they happened to take a walk down a particular street and heard music they liked.
A big coincidence.
Or maybe not.
Maybe it was the same unseen hand that kept a king awake…
that turned a page at just the right moment…
that brought a man to the palace at exactly the wrong time for him, and the right time for God’s purposes.
What felt like chance was actually mercy.
And if you know Christ, you can look back and see it. You weren’t just finding Him.
He was arranging your steps all along.
