Esther 6:1

Esther 6:1 says, On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.  The night before the banquet that Esther was preparing, Ahasuerus could not sleep.  Matthew Henry says that God kept him awake to put His plan in Ahasuerus’s mind.  It may be that if we cannot sleep at night that God is keeping us awake to give us His plan for the next day, especially if we are facing a situation in which someone is plotting against Him.  He had the book of the records of his reign, according to Matthew Henry, brought and read to him.  He also says that this was not to put him to sleep since it would fill his thoughts with things concerning the kingdom, but that God put it in his mind to do this.  Satan was working to have Mordecai and all the Jews done away with, but God was working against him to save them, and God will always prevail over Satan.  As followers of Christ, the victory is already ours because of what he did on the cross.  Satan may win some battles in the world because of the lack of faith in God on the part of people, but he is already defeated forever in the end. 

Verse two adds, And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.  It was read to the king about when the two chamberlains had attempted to lay hands on him.  Matthew Henry says it isn’t clear if they started reading at this point or just came to it at length, but either way that God was behind the reading of the event.  He also says that if King David had been unable to sleep that he would have spent the time meditating on and praising God, whereas Ahasuerus was spending the time reflecting on his accomplishments.  If we are having trouble sleeping, we are better of mediating on the things God has done for us and worshipping Him than we are in thinking about our accomplishments or even the challenges that the next day may bring.

Verse three continues, And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.  Ahasuerus then asked what honor had been done for Mordecai for bringing this plot to his attention and thereby preventing it from being carried out, and his servants said that nothing had been done.  I would think that the king should have known what he had done to honor Mordecai for his bringing this plot to light, but he didn’t remember evidently.  He was now aware of this, and it would change the course of events the next day and for years to come.  Haman had planned to hang Mordecai the next day, but God planned to work through the king to save him.  We as Christians may never know how often God has worked to save us from harm in the world, but we can rely on the fact that He has forever spiritually defeated those who would destroy us, even Satan himself.