Divine Reversal – God Can Overturn It

Esther 9:1
by Pastor Esther Bartels
August 30, 2026
~15 min message Esther 9:1

In this uplifting message, the preacher declares that God specializes in supernatural turnarounds, transforming sickness into health, poverty into abundance, and sorrow into joy. Drawing from the story of Esther, where Israel’s enemies were defeated and their fortunes reversed, the sermon encourages believers to stand on God’s Word and trust in the finished work of the cross to see every negative circumstance in their lives divinely reversed.

Overview

Preaching from Esther 9:1, the speaker declares that God specializes in "divine reversal" — a supernatural turnaround in which negative situations (sickness, poverty, sadness, generational curses, delayed answers to prayer) are overturned and made to work for the believer's good. The message roots this reversal in the finished work of Christ at Calvary, urging believers to fix their attention and faith on God's Word rather than on visible circumstances, since what is meditated upon and spoken shapes what eventually manifests.

Key Scripture Passages

  • Esther 9:1 — On the very day Haman's decree was set to destroy the Jews, the situation was "turned to the contrary" and the Jews gained power over their enemies; the central proof-text for divine reversal.
  • John 1:1 — "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; cited to show that lasting change begins with attention to God's Word.
  • Isaiah 53:5 / 1 Peter 2:24 (referenced as "by His stripes") — the basis for standing in faith for divine health.
  • Galatians 3:13–14 — Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, "being made a curse for us," so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles; used to explain the believer's inherited blessing.
  • John 19:30 — Jesus' cry "It is finished," presented as the legal declaration that every curse (poverty, sickness, sorrow, reproach) has already been paid for.
  • Ephesians 6:12 (paraphrased: "we wrestle not against flesh and blood") — used to explain that Haman's earthly power was underpinned by a spiritual force that had to be confronted.
  • Genesis 45:1–4 (Joseph and his brothers) — illustrative reference: Joseph's brothers did not recognize him after his elevation, picturing the transformation divine reversal produces.

Sermon Outline

  1. Called to follow Christ's example
    • Just as Jesus submitted to baptism, His followers are likewise called to obey — introduced briefly as a picture of obedience before the main message.
  2. A word for those in prolonged waiting
    • Illustration of a man of God who fasted 40 days annually for years yet still awaited an answer to a 17-year prayer — used to validate long seasons of unanswered prayer without losing faith.
  3. Defining Divine Reversal
    • "A supernatural turnaround brought by God, when negative situations are changed and made to work for your good."
    • Clarified that only God — not merely people who "prayed" — is the one who answers; human intercessors point to God but cannot themselves produce the turnaround.
  4. The principle of attention
    • What you give attention to is what changes — illustrated by the everyday example of caring for one's hair or skin to see improvement.
    • Applied spiritually: to walk in divine health (or any reversal), one must give sustained attention/meditation to the Word of God, not merely the visible circumstance.
  5. Categories of reversal promised
    • Sickness turned to health
    • Sadness turned to joy
    • Famine turned to abundance
    • Poverty turned to prosperity
  6. Contrast: counterfeit "lifting" vs. Calvary's finished work
    • Illustration from a film depicting a man who resorts to occult sacrifice for prosperity — used as a foil to argue that if darkness can produce results through sacrifice, God (who is sovereign over life, death, riches, and poverty) has already made a far greater sacrifice through Christ.
    • Declaration that Jesus paid the price at Calvary for sickness, poverty, and sorrow, and believers must have faith to activate — not earn — what is already paid for.
  7. "It is finished" as a legal declaration
    • Christ's words from the cross framed as covering poverty, sickness/infirmity, bloodline crises, disappointment, failure, sadness, and reproach.
    • Until believers embrace this reality, they continue to live under curses they no longer need to bear.
  8. Walking in the blessing of Abraham
    • Believers are called to speak and stand on identity statements ("I am lifted," "I am healed," "I am blessed") as an act of faith corresponding to Galatians 3.
  9. Unrecognizable transformation — the Joseph pattern
    • Just as Joseph's brothers did not recognize him after his elevation, divine reversal is expected to change a believer's life to the point that others see them differently.
  10. Esther 9:1 — the case study of reversal
    • Haman's decree to destroy the Jews was reversed on the very day it was to take effect.
    • Haman's confidence rested in access to the king ("the ears of the king"), a form of worldly power that could not stand against God's intervention.
    • The battle is framed as fundamentally spiritual: "we are not fighting against flesh and blood" — until the spirit behind a circumstance (infirmity, generational curse, family confusion/backbiting) is conquered spiritually, it will not change in the natural realm.

Theological Insights

  • Sovereignty and reversal as a biblical pattern: Esther's narrative is a well-known Old Testament example of "peripeteia" (sudden reversal of fortune) that scholars often connect to God's providence, notably because Esther is unique among Old Testament books in never explicitly naming God — His hand is seen only in reversed circumstances (cf. Esther 4:14; 6:1–13).
  • Christus Victor and substitutionary atonement: The sermon's emphasis on "it is finished" (John 19:30) reflects the doctrine that Christ's death was a completed, once-for-all transaction (cf. Hebrews 10:12–14), meaning believers appropriate finished benefits by faith rather than working to earn them.
  • The curse of the law and covenant blessing: Galatians 3:13–14 connects Christ's crucifixion (echoing Deuteronomy 21:23, "cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree") to the transfer of Abraham's covenant blessing (Genesis 12:2–3) to all who believe, Jew and Gentile alike.
  • Spiritual warfare behind natural circumstances: Ephesians 6:12 undergirds the claim that generational curses, sickness, and relational strife have a spiritual root that must be addressed through prayer and faith before change is seen in the natural — a theme paralleled in Daniel 10, where an angelic messenger describes unseen spiritual conflict behind a delayed answer to prayer.
  • Faith and confession shaping outcome: The sermon's "what you pay attention to, you will see" principle echoes biblical teaching on meditating on the Word (Joshua 1:8; Romans 10:17, "faith comes by hearing... the word of God") and speaking faith-filled declarations (Mark 11:23; Proverbs 18:21).
  • Reversal as a motif across Scripture: The sermon's list (sickness to health, sadness to joy, famine to abundance, poverty to prosperity) mirrors broader biblical reversal language, such as Psalm 30:11 ("You have turned my mourning into dancing") and Isaiah 61:3 ("beauty for ashes... the oil of joy for mourning").

Word & Context Study

  • "Divine Reversal" — defined in the sermon as "a supernatural turnaround brought by God, when negative situations are changed and made to work for your good." In Esther, the Hebrew idea behind this reversal is sometimes summarized by the term venahafokh hu ("and it was turned upside down/to the contrary," Esther 9:1), which became the traditional theme of the Jewish festival of Purim.
  • Haman and "the ear of the king" — Haman was the Persian noble (identified in Esther as an Agagite, Esther 3:1) who used his personal access and influence with King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) to issue a genocidal decree against the Jews (Esther 3:8–13). The sermon uses his reliance on royal favor to illustrate the limits of human/political power compared to spiritual authority.
  • "It is finished" (Greek: tetelestai) — Jesus' final statement in John 19:30. In first-century usage, this term was also stamped on paid financial debts and completed transactions, reinforcing the sermon's picture of Calvary as a fully paid price rather than a partial one.
  • Purim's background — Esther 9 records the origin of the feast of Purim, still celebrated by Jewish communities, commemorating the very reversal the sermon highlights: from planned destruction to deliverance and celebration (Esther 9:20–22).

Application

  • Refuse to let years of unanswered prayer signal that God has forgotten you; continue standing on His Word as the man of God in the sermon did for 17 years.
  • Deliberately shift daily attention and meditation toward Scripture rather than toward the visible problem (bank account, diagnosis, broken relationship).
  • Recognize that intercessors and "prayer warriors" are instruments, not the source — direct ultimate faith and gratitude toward God, who alone answers.
  • Rehearse and speak faith-filled identity statements ("I am healed," "I am lifted," "I am blessed") as an act of standing on what Christ has already finished.
  • Address the root: when facing recurring family conflict, generational patterns, or persistent sickness, pray against the spiritual root first, expecting the natural circumstance to follow.
  • Do not seek shortcuts to breakthrough through compromised or ungodly means; anchor hope in the price already paid at Calvary rather than in worldly substitutes.

Reflection & Discussion Questions

  1. What situation in your life have you been "praying about for years" without seeing an answer, and how does the sermon's teaching on divine reversal encourage you to keep standing in faith?
  2. The preacher says, "what you pay attention to will happen." How might shifting your daily focus from your problem to God's Word practically change your outlook and actions?
  3. How does understanding Christ's "it is finished" as a completed, legal transaction change the way you pray for healing, provision, or breakthrough?
  4. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us we wrestle "not against flesh and blood." What spiritual roots might be behind a recurring struggle in your family or personal life, and how can you address them in prayer?
  5. Esther 9:1 shows a reversal that happened on the very day destruction was planned. What does this teach about God's timing, even when a breakthrough seems delayed until the last moment?
  6. Like Joseph's brothers who didn't recognize him after his elevation, how might a genuine divine reversal in your life change the way others perceive you — and are you prepared for that change?

Conclusion

The central call of this message is simple but bold: no matter how entrenched a negative circumstance appears — sickness, poverty, sorrow, generational curses, or years of unanswered prayer — God is still the God of divine reversal, able to turn every one of them to the contrary for the believer's good. Because Christ has already declared "it is finished" at Calvary, the invitation is not to strive for a blessing yet to be earned, but to fix attention on God's Word, believe what has already been paid for, and stand firm until, as with Esther and the Jewish exiles of Persia, what was meant for destruction is turned into deliverance, honor, and abundant life.

Study guide generated from this sermon · Grace International Ministry Apostolic
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