Receptive Heart

Accepting God’s will requires a receptive heart. A heart able to receive truths from God. A heart actively prohibiting preexisting mind frames from blocking God’s will. Conditions govern the level of receptivity displayed towards God’s will. It should not be so, yet imperfect people do imperfect things. Nevertheless, God reworks and adapts imperfections to bring Him glory. This shows that the completion of God’s will is always at the forefront of God’s mind. Thus, God speaks to the hearts of man to bring about His will. We, believers, must ensure our hearts are receptive and consciously ban our will from preceding God’s will.

In juxtaposing Esther and Jonah, we see varying receptivity towards God’s will. Receptivity is measured by the amount of resistance met in attempting to receive a thing. Emotions, points of view, and circumstances are some things that can create resistance. In considering Esther, her fear made her not immediately agree with God’s will—presented by Mordecai—for her to appear unto the king without being summoned (Esther 4:9-11). The overarching thought of Esther fearing the death penalty is valid. However, she possibly could have feared the experience of rejection, loss of love and good standing that came before death. She could have felt insecure in her role as queen because she compared herself to Vashti. If king Xerxes once accepted guidance to depose the Vashti he so fancied, how quickly would he turn his heart from a virgin girl he crowned after one night?

Regardless of what Esther feared, fear should not hinder going forward in God’s will. Why? Because God’s presence is heavily present in things concerning His will and His presence brings favor to succeed. Favor is what kept Esther. Esther aligning herself to the things of God—fasting, and prayer—is what assisted her in carrying out God’s will. One can presume that God directed Esther to invite the King and Haman to the banquets. Only God would have known what would have appealed to the king. In Esther 1:5 we see the king as a man who displays his throne and kingdom prowess through lavish generosity, and he probably loved to eat. Aside from this assumption, the truth remains that God’s presence was over Esther, and it gave her the favor to meet the scepter and not death.

Moreover, when briefly considering Jonah, we see his disdain for Nineveh makes him overtly resist God’s will for him to go to Nineveh and preach against it. Once humbled in the fish’s belly, God places him on solid ground urging him toward His will again. He obeys whilst remaining indifferent. This depicts God’s resolve to rework and adapt imperfections to bring Him glory. God is firm yet patient with us. Regardless of any harbored emotional and mental reservation and, or indifference, accepting God’s will should be a priority. The will of God directs us towards the very things that will better our lives, grow our faith and answer our prayers. His ways and thoughts are always above ours.

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright, and just is he (Deuteronomy 32:4).