Reading through the first few chapters of Esther, I highlighted the sovereignty of God and His providence over all that He has created. Today I want to spend a few moments talking about the will of God, the importance of it and examples of how it all plays out in the story of Esther
Will of God
The will of a human being is basically what that person desires to happen in any given situation. In the human will, the person can will it to happen and be involved in bringing the desire out. But also the will of a human could be simply want they desire to happen and have no control over the actual event and bringing about the desire. For example, it I will to have a cheese burger, this simply means I desire to eat a Whopper from Burger King. Now as I will I could go get in my car and drive to the closest Burger King. But if my leg is broke and my wife is bringing dinner home to me, I could will a cheese burger for dinner but I do not control the actual outcome of getting a cheese burger. This will or desire in events and outcomes is the same for God, except as we have looked at the last 2 days, God is all sovereign and providential, which means God could control every event and outcome to His will. But because God has given us some freedom as His creation and because He is loving, merciful, and gracious, His will can be broken down into 3 parts.
God’s will of Decree
This part of God’s will is the part that makes everything He wants to happen, well, simply happen. If God wants it to rain on my house only, His will of decree could kick in and it could just rain on my house. In the story of Esther, God’s will of decree was that His people would survive the Haman plot and be saved. God willed it to happen, and it happened. And Haman loses.
God’s perceptive will
This part of the will of God is His law. This part of the will of God He has laid out for His people to follow but we have the ability to break this part of His will. This would be parts of the will of God like murder, adultery, taking His name in vain, worshipping only Him. In the story of Esther, God’s perceptive will was for His people to not have sex before marriage and unit themselves with a foreign idolatrous people. But Esther breaks this when she sleeps and then married the King, thus breaking both of those perceptive wills of God. God could chose to make this also His will of decree, but in His love for us, He allows His creation to choose to follow His precepts.
God’s will of disposition
This is the part of the will of God can be described as His attitude or actions that please God. A human example of this would be the fact that I am pleased when my son gets a hit in his next baseball game. Sam, getting a hit is not something I can control or that is a rule in my house but Sam getting a hit is a desire or will I have and when he does it pleases me and excites me. For God in the story of Esther, God’s will of disposition is at play when Esther gets the courage to go before the King and risk her life for the people. Esther going before the King was not a law of God and at the same time, God was not forcing Esther to go, she prayed and fasted and then chose to risk her life and go before the King. This pleases God and made Him happy.
So, God’s will was at work in the story of Esther and is at work in our lives every day. Have you noticed when His perceptive will and disposition line up in your life?
Will of God
The will of a human being is basically what that person desires to happen in any given situation. In the human will, the person can will it to happen and be involved in bringing the desire out. But also the will of a human could be simply want they desire to happen and have no control over the actual event and bringing about the desire. For example, it I will to have a cheese burger, this simply means I desire to eat a Whopper from Burger King. Now as I will I could go get in my car and drive to the closest Burger King. But if my leg is broke and my wife is bringing dinner home to me, I could will a cheese burger for dinner but I do not control the actual outcome of getting a cheese burger. This will or desire in events and outcomes is the same for God, except as we have looked at the last 2 days, God is all sovereign and providential, which means God could control every event and outcome to His will. But because God has given us some freedom as His creation and because He is loving, merciful, and gracious, His will can be broken down into 3 parts.
God’s will of Decree
This part of God’s will is the part that makes everything He wants to happen, well, simply happen. If God wants it to rain on my house only, His will of decree could kick in and it could just rain on my house. In the story of Esther, God’s will of decree was that His people would survive the Haman plot and be saved. God willed it to happen, and it happened. And Haman loses.
God’s perceptive will
This part of the will of God is His law. This part of the will of God He has laid out for His people to follow but we have the ability to break this part of His will. This would be parts of the will of God like murder, adultery, taking His name in vain, worshipping only Him. In the story of Esther, God’s perceptive will was for His people to not have sex before marriage and unit themselves with a foreign idolatrous people. But Esther breaks this when she sleeps and then married the King, thus breaking both of those perceptive wills of God. God could chose to make this also His will of decree, but in His love for us, He allows His creation to choose to follow His precepts.
God’s will of disposition
This is the part of the will of God can be described as His attitude or actions that please God. A human example of this would be the fact that I am pleased when my son gets a hit in his next baseball game. Sam, getting a hit is not something I can control or that is a rule in my house but Sam getting a hit is a desire or will I have and when he does it pleases me and excites me. For God in the story of Esther, God’s will of disposition is at play when Esther gets the courage to go before the King and risk her life for the people. Esther going before the King was not a law of God and at the same time, God was not forcing Esther to go, she prayed and fasted and then chose to risk her life and go before the King. This pleases God and made Him happy.
So, God’s will was at work in the story of Esther and is at work in our lives every day. Have you noticed when His perceptive will and disposition line up in your life?
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