Ever worked the night shift and wondered if anyone notices the important work being done in the dark? Through Esther chapter 6, Michael Shockley reveals how God operates during life's darkest, most confusing seasons when it seems nothing is happening. Using colorful analogies from his own graveyard shift experience at a glass factory (complete with zombies, werewolves, and vampires!), discover how one sleepless night changed everything for God's people. When King Ahasuerus can't sleep and decides to read the royal chronicles, a forgotten act of loyalty by Mordecai surfaces at the exact moment Haman arrives to request his execution. Watch as God orchestrates the enemy's humiliation through his own pride, turning what should have been Mordecai's death sentence into a royal parade of honor.

Core Message: God works the graveyard shift.

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- Working the graveyard shift at the glass factory: zombies, werewolves, and vampires

- How night shift work makes a difference in the day

- Creating "portals of light" that others will enjoy in daylight

- The unseen but crucial work done while others sleep

- How God operates similarly during our dark seasons

- His position "sitting in the king's gate" as a government worker

- Overhearing the assassination plot against King Ahasuerus

- Reporting the conspiracy through Esther to save the king's life

- The overlooked reward that seemed like neglect but was divine timing

- How good deeds are never truly forgotten by God

- Divine insomnia sent upon the most powerful ruler on earth

- "He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4)

- Calling for the royal chronicles to be read as a sleep aid

- The "coincidental" discovery of Mordecai's unrewarded loyalty

- How God disrupts even basic human functions for His purposes

- Arriving at court to request Mordecai's execution

- The king's question: "What should be done for someone I want to honor?"

- Haman's prideful assumption that he was the one to be honored

- Designing his own humiliation through royal robes, horse, and parade

- The enemy writing the script for his own downfall

- Haman forced to honor the man he planned to kill

- Leading Mordecai's parade through the city in royal regalia

- The crowd's response and Haman's humiliation

- His family's ominous warning about opposing the Jews' God

- The first visible sign of God's intervention in the story

- How supposed "coincidences" align for divine purposes

- The timing of sleeplessness, book reading, and Haman's arrival

- Delay revealed as divine design rather than oversight

- Pride setting its own snare for the prideful

- The same God working in our dark seasons today

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"God works the graveyard shift."

"The work done on the night shift makes a difference in the day."

"Just because you can't see the gears turning doesn't mean the engine isn't running."

"Your sleepless season might be God's setup for breakthrough."

"What looks like delay or outright neglect was intentional timing."

"All the world may be against you, but if God is for you, the enemy is outnumbered!"

"God had the enemy write the script for his own humiliation."

"Coincidence becomes providence."

"God can cash old checks at just the right moment."

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- Primary Text: Esther 6:1-5

- Key Verse: "That night the king could not sleep..." (Esther 6:1)

- Supporting Verse: "Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:4)

- Theme: God's providence working through seeming coincidences

- Historical Context: Mordecai's forgotten reward for saving the king's life

- Parallel Examples: Israel's midnight deliverance from Egypt, Paul and Silas freed at midnight, Jesus's resurrection during the night shift

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- Trust that God is working even when you can't see or hear Him

- Remember that silence doesn't mean absence - He's assembling the pieces

- Know that your sleepless nights might be God's setup for breakthrough

- Keep doing good even when it seems nobody notices or cares

- Understand that delay might actually be divine design

- Trust that God can "cash old checks" at exactly the right moment

- Remember that overlooked good deeds aren't forgotten by God

- Know that the timing of recognition may be more important than immediate reward

- Trust that pride sets its own snare for the prideful

- Watch for God to use the enemy's schemes against them

- Remember that "all the world may be against you, but if God is for you, the enemy is outnumbered"

- Know that God can have enemies write the script for their own humiliation

- Remember that night shift work makes a difference in the day

- Trust that the "portals of light" you create will bless others later

- Know that unseen work is still valuable and noticed by God

- Keep laboring faithfully even when your efforts seem invisible

- Reframe silence as God working rather than God sleeping

- Redeem waiting by trusting the unseen hand of providence

- Find hope in darkness knowing that morning will come

- Trust that coincidences might actually be divine appointments

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Maybe you're in a season of midnight - a time of darkness, confusion, or worry where it seems like God has gone to sleep on your situation. Maybe good things you've done have gone unnoticed and unrewarded. Maybe you're working faithfully behind the scenes while others get the credit. This much is true: God works the graveyard shift. The same God who kept King Ahasuerus awake to orchestrate Mordecai's rescue is awake and working in your life right now. He who keeps your soul will neither slumber nor sleep. The sun will eventually rise, and you will see what the Lord has built in the night. Just as Jesus did His most important work during the night shift - conquering death itself while the world slept - He is conquering your challenges in the darkness. Trust Him in the dark seasons. Keep doing what is right even when nobody seems to notice. God works the graveyard shift, and morning is coming.

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- Website: recreatechurch.org

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What are you facing in your own "graveyard shift" season? Sleepless nights, forgotten good deeds, or dark confusion? Trust that the same God who turned Haman's gallows into Mordecai's parade is working the night shift in your story too. Will you trust Him in the dark?