Day 344 Esther 1:1-2:18; Revelation 2:18-3:6; Psalm 140:6-13 God is at work in the life of both the Church and the nation. He has a message for His Church. It is the message of the Spirit: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Revelation 2:29; Revelation 3:6). This message of the Lord concerns His Church. It also concerns the world. On the surface, the story of Esther is not a very spiritual story. Nevertheless, God is there. Amid all the talk of "twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics" (Esther 2:12), God was working out His purpose. He was revealing Himself as the "Sovereign Lord", the "strong defender" of His people. The plans of men - "the wicked" - did not succeed. The pride of man was brought to nothing so that the glory belong to God alone (Psalm 140:7-8). This is the message of the book of Est...