Feelings and “senses” – not all good, but not all bad

Scripture Read: Esther 2:18-20 Then the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his princes and his servants; he also made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king’s bounty. ¹⁹ When the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. ²⁰ Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, even as Mordecai had commanded her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her as she had done when under his care.   

Application: This passage brings some real interesting thoughts – none that have direct answers because only the people involved could speak to the specific issues – but the thoughts can cause us to meditate on some important things also. First – It would be interesting to understand what love from this King means. He clearly cared for Vasti in some way because he regretted what he did after he had reacted in anger to her. It has to be more than just physical because he has a harem. Now with Esther he is so happy he gives gifts to people. I am sure in this century my concept of love is quite different, but it is healthy for all of us to examine our own ideas of love. If they turn out to be shallow or selfish, it could explain some of the unhappiness in our life. How much of our love is driven by our senses versus how much is driven by our willful decisions. Falling in and out of love as fast as people do today exposes that what they are feeling is infatuation not love. The other issue this passage brings to us is Esther’s response to Mordecai. Again, this is a totally different culture for many of us and a different era for all of us – but Esther must have sensed inside this was the right thing to do. Whether out of obedience which this era demanded or just a sense that her uncle was correct only Esther can tell us, but we can still learn how important it is to listen to our inner voice. We must be careful because we can deceive ourselves, yet many times God moves in us through our senses. The Word tells us to test everything; spirits, teachers, and even ourselves. So we cannot follow our senses – the enemy can mess with them also, but we should take the time to examine what we are sensing in situations and bring those before His throne. Father, as we open ourselves to You help us evaluate our love. When You speak to us through our senses let us bring that before You and validate it. 

Meditation Questions: How do I use the word “love”? What do I think the difference is between “love”, “like” and “infatuated”? How much time of silence do I give myself each day? Have I ever felt strong about something and ignored it? What happened? Do I see my relationship with the Holy Spirit so close that many times what I sense is His promptings?