Know the Heart of God

I believe God often has a deeper message to convey to us through the stories of the Bible than the surface story, just as the parables that Jesus told had deeper lessons.

I’ve been reading Hadassah by Tommy Tenney. This is a fictional account of Hadassah, later renamed Esther, who was forced to become a Queen candidate in Persia under King Xerxes. She was captured and kept like a slave, and then given beauty treatments and pampered care for several months before spending a night with the King. She won the “Beauty Contest” out of hundreds of candidates, and became the Queen of Persia and wife of King Xerxes.

Of course, we don’t have a similar physical situation like this today, but we can gain a lesson from it. How does Esther prepare to meet the King? And how should we approach our holy God? Much earlier in the book, a friend describes his feeling of being in the presence of God. He said,  “I thought I could feel His heart.” (p. 77) (like the joy of a Father when his child is overcome with joy at his presence,) “I could feel His tears, too.—God’s pain because of sin and evil and heartbreak.” He entered the Holy of Holies “When (his) heart was pure before Him.” Then he read scripture, prayed, sang praises, asked forgiveness for sins, and worshipped.

This became a lesson for Esther. In her preparations to spend time with King Xerxes, Esther decided she should seek to know the King’s heart, to be sensitive to his feelings. We also should seek to know the heart of God. When we repent of our sins, accepting His forgiveness through Jesus’ redemption, our hearts become pure before him. Then we can have a close relationship with him. As we read and study God’s Word, we become close to Him and learn to know His heart.

In chapter 23, I was immediately struck by the words, “If you want to gain the King’s favor, listen to the Chamberlain.”(148). We don’t have Chamberlains in our lives today, but it seemed to me the Holy Spirit was saying, “Listen to the Holy Spirit. Heed his admonitions, seek his counsel.”

Focus on the King. What are his wishes and needs? “God walks through disappointment with us.” (178). He can reveal a purpose for our suffering.

God worked through Esther, as Queen, (and her adoptive father, Mordecai,) to save the Jewish people from annihilation. No one was allowed to approach the King unless he summoned them, but  Esther courageously approached King Xerxes, asking him to have mercy on the Jewish people and he granted her request. This event is the origin of the Feast of Purim.

As we walk through our lives, sensitive to God’s heart and obedient to God’s will, rejoicing in his presence and love, we, too, can be used for good in His Kingdom.