Soaking In The Spirit
(5 minutes)
Before each young woman was taken to the king's bed, she was given the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments--six months with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments. When it was time for her to go to the king's palace, she was given her choice of whatever clothing or jewelry she wanted to take from the harem. (Esther 2:12-13)
Now that we've seen the favor that Esther gained by being fathered, there is one more truth we need to highlight in this story - soaking in the Holy Spirit.
"A healed heart only happens in soaking in the Spirit of the Lord. We went straight to your behavior because we didn't have time to let you soak." (Pastor Tim)
Before Esther goes before the king, she is taken through the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments - soaking six months in the oil of myrrh, followed by another six months of soaking in special perfumes and ointments. She submits to 365 days of soaking.
Soaking in the Spirit is about letting the love of Abba tenderize our hearts, making them whole again. Soaking in the Spirit allows the calloused areas of our hearts, the areas that have been hardened by hardships, to be dealt with and completely healed. This only happens if we slow our pace and allow ourselves to be undressed in vulnerability and honesty as we soak in His love. "Here's the issue: most of us don't want to be that vulnerable in the presence of God. We don't want to talk about how we were abused and misused, and how trust was broken the first day. We don't want to talk about how most of us had no present fathers or present mothers. We don't want to talk about how we've messed up in this area or been rejected in this area. We don't want to talk about it." (Pastor Tim)
But a healed heart only happens in soaking. We will not love or be loved to the degree that we're designed to until we submit to soaking in the Spirit. Esther decided that she wasn't going to go before the king, calloused. She was going to take the time to be made tender, to be restored to her original design - innocence.
After the soaking process was over and her heart was soft, it was time to prepare to go into the king's presence. Esther was allowed to pick whatever clothes and jewelry she liked as she planned for the occasion. Later in the story, we find out that Esther made all her decisions based on what Hegai, the picture of the Holy Spirit, suggested. After the soaking had done its work, she was free to focus on the king instead of herself, so when others were picking based on their own preferences and desires, Esther was able to make decisions based on what the king would enjoy. What happens after you submit to soaking in the Spirit? You're able to go into every situation and circumstance, not led by fear, insecurity, or past hurts that cause you to only be concerned with yourself, but you can finally be directed by one question: what does the King like?
Abba, what do You want? What is Your heart concerning this matter? What do You want me to do today? What do You want me to say in this situation? What is Your heart towards this person? How would you like me to worship You and host Your presence today? Only a healed heart can ask these questions. The broken heart will only bow to what protects it from being hurt. But the healed heart can bow to the King and others in perfect love.
Are you ready to submit to soaking in the Spirit? This soaking requires you to be fully immersed in Yahweh's thoughts about you. This soaking is a commitment to being exposed in His presence so He can lavish His love on every area, especially the ones you're not proud of and do your best to hide. This season of soaking is about learning to be loved by Abba. We were made for His eyes...every part of us!
Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. (Esther 2:16-17)
Beloved One, bring your heart to Me, your whole heart. You can trust Me with it all. There's not one part of you that I don't adore. Come soak in My goodness! Let me heal your heart, so you can love and be loved like I created you to. Let My perfect love cast out all your fear!
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