Quite the Opposite Happened: The God of Divine Reversals

You may be facing something today that has created fear in your heart.

A circumstance you cannot control.

A report you did not expect.

An uncertainty about your family, your finances, your health, your future, or your ministry.

Maybe your mind has already begun imagining the worst possible outcome.

But I want to remind you of something today:

God is the God of the plot twist.

He is the God of divine reversals.

He is the God who can step into a situation that appears headed toward certain defeat and cause you to look back and say:

“QUITE THE OPPOSITE HAPPENED.”

King Hezekiah once faced an enemy who appeared unstoppable. The Assyrian army had devastated nation after nation, and now its threats were directed toward Jerusalem.

Everything Hezekiah was hearing gave him a reason to be afraid. But God sent him a word through the prophet Isaiah:

“Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard…”
— Isaiah 37:6

In other words:

Do not allow what you have heard to determine what you believe God is going to do.

The threat was real. The enemy was real. The circumstances were real. But the conclusion the enemy was predicting was not going to happen.

And Proverbs gives us this incredible promise:

“The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled; the hopes of the godly will be granted.”
— Proverbs 10:24 NLT

I love that. The hopes of the godly will be granted.

So I want to speak this word from God over you as you begin reading:

Your fears will not be fulfilled and your hopes shall be granted.

Do not confuse the enemy’s threat with God’s final word. Do not confuse what you see today with what God is preparing tomorrow.

Sometimes God does something so unexpected, so dramatic, and so completely opposite of what circumstances predicted that the only explanation is:

God stepped into the story.

And nowhere do we see that more dramatically than in the book of Esther.

Quite the Opposite Happened

As I read Esther 9:1 this morning, one phrase leaped off the page:

“On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies.”
— Esther 9:1 NLT

Quite the opposite happened.

What a description of the entire book of Esther.

Haman had power. Haman had influence. Haman had the king’s signet ring. He had secured a decree, selected a date, and even prepared the place where he intended Mordecai to die.

From a human perspective, the outcome appeared inevitable. But Haman made one enormous miscalculation:

He had not factored God into the equation.

The Enemy Can Set a Date, but He Cannot Write the Final Chapter

Haman’s hatred began with Mordecai, who refused to bow before him. But destroying one man was not enough for Haman. He sought to destroy all the Jews throughout the empire.

King Xerxes gave Haman his signet ring, allowing him to issue the decree in the king’s name. A date was placed on the calendar for the destruction of God’s people.

Imagine receiving that news. Imagine knowing that the decree bore the authority of the king.

From every visible standpoint, their future appeared to have been decided.

But never forget:

The enemy can set a date, but he cannot write the final chapter.

One of the extraordinary things about Esther is that God’s name is never explicitly mentioned, yet His fingerprints are everywhere.

Esther had become queen. Mordecai had uncovered a plot against the king, and his act of loyalty had been recorded but apparently forgotten.

Then, on the very night Haman was preparing to ask for Mordecai’s execution, the king could not sleep. He ordered the records of his reign to be read. Mordecai’s forgotten act was discovered, and the king determined that he should be honored.

Haman walked into the palace expecting death for Mordecai. He walked out commanded to honor him publicly.

Quite the opposite happened.

The Gallows Haman Built

Haman had become so consumed with hatred toward Mordecai that he prepared a seventy-five-foot pole on which he intended Mordecai to be impaled.

But after Esther exposed Haman’s wicked plot, the king ordered that Haman himself be impaled on it.

“So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai.”
— Esther 7:10 NLT

Think about that.

The very instrument Haman prepared for Mordecai’s destruction became the instrument of his own downfall.

Quite the opposite happened.

Then the Signet Ring Changed Hands

After Haman’s downfall, King Xerxes took back his signet ring and gave it to Mordecai.

“Then the king took off his signet ring—which he had taken back from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai.”
— Esther 8:2 NLT

The ring did not change.

The hand possessing the authority changed.

The authority Haman had used against God’s people was now entrusted to a man who would help deliver them. Mordecai went from being marked for execution to holding authority next to the king himself.

Never determine where God can take you tomorrow based on where you are sitting today.

But there was still a problem: Haman’s original decree remained in force. A decree written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring could not be revoked.

So another decree was issued. It gave the Jews authority to unite and defend their lives.

The enemy still existed. The appointed day still existed. But God’s people were no longer powerless.

Another word had come from the king.

Then the Appointed Day Arrived

Eventually the day Haman had selected came. Both decrees were put into effect.

Same king. Same kingdom. Same date. Same enemies.

But God’s people were no longer powerless.

Esther 9:1 says:

“On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies.”

The date appointed for destruction became a date of victory. The people Haman intended to destroy were delivered.

But as powerful as this story is, it points me toward an even greater reversal.

The Ultimate Divine Reversal

When I think about the pole Haman prepared for Mordecai, I cannot help but think about another instrument of execution:

The Cross of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus was nailed to the Cross, it appeared that the powers of darkness had won.

The Son of God was mocked. His body was broken. His blood was shed. He breathed His last, and they laid Him in a tomb.

To everyone watching, it looked like defeat.

But what looked like the enemy’s greatest triumph was the very place where God accomplished His greatest victory.

Jesus was bearing our sin. He was paying the debt we could never pay. He was carrying the judgment we deserved.

And while the enemy thought the Cross would end the ministry of Jesus, the Cross became the place where Jesus defeated the enemy.

Paul declares:

“He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”
— Colossians 2:15 NLT

Do you see it?

The weapon intended to destroy Jesus became the instrument through which He disarmed the powers of darkness.

Quite the opposite happened.

They placed His body in a tomb and rolled a stone across the entrance. It looked final.

But on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead.

Death could not hold Him. The grave could not keep Him. And the victory He won was not for Himself alone. Through His death and resurrection, He opened the way for us to be forgiven, made alive, and brought into the family of God.

That is the greatest reversal in history.

Sin said guilty. Jesus said forgiven.

Death said finished. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

The tomb said the story was over. The risen Christ declared it had only begun.

Romans 8:1–2 declares that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus, because the life-giving Spirit has freed us from the power of sin and death.

That is why I love to say: Grace is not a license to sin. Grace is a license to win. Grace forgives you, changes you, and empowers you to live in the victory Jesus has won.

Before we ask God to turn around anything in our circumstances, we can stand on what He has already accomplished in Christ. The Cross tells us that God can take the very thing that looks like defeat and make it the place of victory.

The ultimate “quite the opposite happened” is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Maybe You Need That Word Today

Maybe something you heard has filled your mind with fear. A report. A threat. A possibility. A circumstance that keeps replaying in your thoughts.

Remember what God told Hezekiah: Do not be afraid of what you have heard.

Remember the promise of Proverbs 10:24: “The hopes of the godly will be granted.”

And remember the words of Esther 9:1: “Quite the opposite happened.”

I cannot tell you exactly how every circumstance will unfold. But fear does not have the right to write your future. The enemy does not have the final word. The King is still on the throne.

He is still the God who turns mourning into dancing, gives beauty for ashes, and brings resurrection out of crucifixion. He is still the God of divine reversals.

And one day you may look back at the very thing you were afraid of and declare:

“QUITE THE OPPOSITE HAPPENED.”

Thank you for reading. If this word encouraged you, I would love to hear from you in the comments: Where are you trusting God for a divine reversal?

Please share this with someone who needs to be reminded that what they fear is not the final word.

Love and prayers, Greg!