My team had the opportunity to spend a little over a week in a village set high in the rolling, smoke-covered mountains of Manipur. I was so excited to leave behind the noise, dust, and traffic of the cities for quieter (and cooler!) nights.
One of my WR bucket list dreams was to spend a night alone on a mountain with God. I think it was on His list too because it happened rather easily. Haha.
I gathered my Bible, journal, headlamp, bottle of water, blanket, and left my team in the brick guesthouse for the traditional bamboo hut just down the hill.
The night was lit by tiny silver stars, a tangerine moon, and the distance glow of cozy solar-powered villages. As the jungle sang out its night song, I felt Papa-God’s presence saturating the solitary space around me.
I waited for Him to speak.
“Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.” Esther 2:17-18
What does that mean?
God said to me:
Apart from me, your mind is selfish. With me, the possibilities are endless. Esther was filled with faith – willing to lay her life down in love to follow Me. I crowned her with favor and authority and wisdom in a time of confusion, fear, and mystery. She trusted Me with her life. In her history with Me I had built a firm foundation – her mind did not naturally default to her own needs as often as before. The king noticed a difference between her and Vasti. Her humble and pure heart gave way to salvation and victory.
“Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.” Psalm 24:3-4
In the mountains of Manipur, I saw the powerful simplicity of having an undivided (pure) heart. It was there that we visited the place where the Gospel first came and transformed a tribe of head-hunters into followers of Jesus.
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
The state of our heart is important to God…
…and His love is always refining us, whether we know it or not.
It seems to me that those who have a heart in pursuit of God’s have the craziest adventures:
Esther was called out of obscurity to rescue her people from certain death. God transformed a tribe in the mountains of India by sending one person on a long walk into the jungle. My own great-great-grandfather stood at the end of a warriors spear in Africa because he knew God’s heart was for those tribesmen.
Purity is powerful.
Purity is undivided.
Purity is simple.
How is your heart?
