Need a Little Change?

There is a scripture in 1 Samuel 10:9 that fills my mind with wonder. It says, “As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart…” Just like that!! Saul’s heart is changed.

I can’t tell you how many times I have labored and tried to change someone’s heart regarding something, from my children to friends making bad choices to myself. How many times have I researched, debated, laid out an iron clad case that will “fix” the situation, only to have all my work, thoughts, and efforts gently set on a shelf and be of no use at all? It’s crystal clear to me that though I may be able to inform or influence someone, I can’t change anyone, but I always seem to try anyway. I guess that’s part of the reason that I find that scripture so fascinating. God can actually change, transform, a person.

Paul presented this idea to the followers of Christ in Corinth. He asks them in chapter 3, why some say they follow Paul and others that they follow Apollos? If you do that aren’t you acting like mere men? In other words, you’re not following God who can bring true change, you’re following men who can only give you information or status. As great a man as Paul was and as dynamic a man as Apollos appears to have been, they are mere men in service to the Lord.

Paul then gives an illustration of fields growing crops as to what part he plays as a servant in the bigger work of God. Men can plant the seeds and water the ground, but they can’t make the crop grow. They don’t make the seed die in the ground or absorb the nutrients from the soil. They don’t provide the rain to get the water or the sun and all it produces with its light, heat and vitamins. That is exclusively the work of God.

I really should write this down and try to remember it so that the next time I try to make someone change, I can step out of the way, and not frustrate myself or them (oh how I’ve frustrated some people) and leave that work to God.

I may be able to plant a thought or some perspectives in someone’s mind, but ultimately it’s God who brings salvation and transformation and only God who can change a person’s heart.

Is there anyone out there besides me that needs a little change?

I understand God is giving it, freely

Wrestling (revised and reposted)

One of the more difficult lessons I am learning in life is that you can't give up! You can't stop trying to move your life forward. It doesn't matter if you’re tired, fed up, angry, bewildered, overwhelmed, you still have to push ahead and try to do what is right. You just can’t say “to hell with it”, throw your arms up and quit. I think Paul had this in mind when he wrote not to lose heart in doing what is right.

The thought of wrestling came into my mind the other day after dealing with a situation that ended after 4:00 a.m. and totally drained the life out of me. I thought about that intriguing passage in Genesis, where Jacob’s walk was marked for the rest of his life after he wrestled with God all night. I wondered, what would have happened had he quit and let go without holding on for his blessing? There is another account where Daniel is praying and waiting for 21 days without food for an answer from God. He waits as someone (or something) is hindering the answer from reaching him that entire time. The answer finally came on that 21st day, but what if he had given up and stopped just one day earlier?

Like these stories, my 4-hour wrestling match also ended well, but the thought terrifies me, ‘What could have happened had I quit?’ And God help me, I almost did several times. It makes me wonder how many times have I given up just short of the blessing, just before the answer or breakthrough?

So to the mom overwhelmed with worry over her children, or the couple struggling to hold on to each other, the dad who’s in way over his head at work or anyone who finds himself praying and waiting for help, Jesus said, “Don’t stop asking, don’t stop knocking, and don’t stop seeking, because everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

When? Maybe on the 21st day or maybe in the morning. The question really isn’t when, the question is, can you afford to quit too soon and miss it?