How Does God Change My Heart?
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.
1 John 2:3
Our heart changes when we know the Lord through the mind of Christ, from studying and meditating on his Word, and identifying with the thoughts and emotions of Jesus. If we keep his commands and follow the Spirit, we will minister to souls, and we will have the same thoughts and emotions as Jesus, and this drives us into the Word, prayer, and fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters.
God told Hosea to marry a promiscuous women and have children. The Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” (Hosea 1:2). Hosea found the women, her name was Gomer, and sometime after they had kids she left and went back to her worldly lifestyle. God told Hosea, go and bring her back. The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods. (Hosea 3:1). Why did God put Hosea through the hurt and pain of choosing a wife that God new would leave? The reason was so Hosea could experience the same emotions God had with the adulterous Israelites, which he experienced through his adulterous relationship with Gomer. We can understand the heart of God but it is not the same as experiencing the heart of God.
If we follow the Spirit, he will lead us to minister personally to people, and we experience joy when we lead someone to Christ, and we experience sadness and hurt when we minister to someone like Gomer. This helps us to understand the heart and emotions of God, and brings us closer to the Lord through prayer, the Word, and fellowship. We have the mind to Christ to live the life of Christ, opening our heart to point lost souls to Christ. As we experience the same emotions of Jesus, our heart changes to the heart of Jesus; and bringing lost souls to Christ becomes the reason we live. This happens only if we follow the Holy Spirit, because the purpose of the Spirit is to make us more like Christ. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Romans 8:25).
We change our thoughts to the things of God, and our mind reprograms our brain to the things of God. The Spirit leads us to personally minister to the lost souls, and we experience the same emotions as God did with the Israelites, and our heart is forever changing to the heart of Jesus. We have now renewed our mind, reprogramming our physical brain, and the Spirit leads us to a changed heart. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2). This is where it all starts, changing our thinking through Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters.
Today take time to focus on the Word and pray. As you go through the day, show Christ to everyone by reflecting the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23). As we personally minister to people, our emotions will change our heart and we begin to see people the way God sees people. God is the one who changes our heart as the Spirit continues to lead us to be a light to others.
Prayer: Lord, guide me today to be a light for Christ, and continually change my heart to the heart of Jesus. Let your love fill my heart to the point that I cannot help reflecting your love to others. Thank you for the blessings through the Spirit and for the blessings to survive in this sinful world. Guide me today, to point lost souls to the Kingdom through the Spirit’s divine guidance. In Jesus name, Amen