Change My Heart
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (Good News Translation)
26 I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I
will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.27
I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep
all the commands I have given you.
Friends and family ask me on a regular basis, “how are you
doing?” and the only answer I seem to have is I am conflicted. I feel like I am all over the place, but in a
good way. I feel like I have a battle
going on inside me, but in a good way. I
feel like my thoughts are battling each other, but in a good way.
Romans 7:14-25 (The Message)
14-16I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know
that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your
experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in
sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way,
but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be
trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes
obvious that God's command is necessary. 17-20But I need something
more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin
within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize
that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to
do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it
anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has
gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. 21-23It
happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin
is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty
obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel,
and just when I least expect it, they take charge. 24I've
tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one
who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? 25The
answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things
right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my
heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally
different.
I spend a lot of my
time praying and asking God to change my heart and mind because I know He is the
only one that can. I surely have tried
for years to be better, love deeper, and forgive more. I am not saying I haven’t been a good person
because I have been. What I am saying is
I have not been all that God designed me to be.
I have not loved how God designed me to love and I have not forgiven the
way God designed me to forgive. I CANNOT do any of these things
without God living inside me. The ONLY way I can do anything that
God designed me to do is through the Holy Spirit. Think of it like this, when we are lost most
of us use a navigation system of some sort.
We can use maps but most of us prefer the lady telling us to “turn
right” or if you are like me saying, “rerouting”! The Bible is the map so to speak and the Holy
Spirit is the navigation system voice telling us where to go. If you have the volume down on your
navigation system then you can miss much needed information. If you are distracted chatting with a friend,
spouse, or kids then you can also miss the much needed information. For the navigation to be most effective you
have to be paying attention and listening for her voice. The Holy Spirit works in the same way! If I have the volume down, meaning I am not
in God’s word and in constant prayer, then I can’t hear Him. If I am distracted with life and my surroundings,
then I miss His voice. The Holy Spirit
is the most effective when I am focused on God and His desires for my life. I must be active in my part of this
relationship. Just like before I leave
the house I make sure I have all the “must have” items to make it through my
day, I MUST, MUST, MUST make sure I invite God to be a part of my day. I must turn up the volume of God to be as
loud as it will go so I am not lost navigating through my daily life. I am finding that I must be constantly talking
to God throughout my day because the “old me” so desperately wants to take
control. I have already proven to
myself, SEVERAL TIMES, that me in control produces one hot mess! I am in constant praise of gratitude that I
do have a Savior who is more than capable and WILLING to save me from ME.
Psalms 104:33-34 (Good News Translation)
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life; as long
as I live I will sing praises to my God. 34 May he be pleased with
my song, for my gladness comes from him.
I love that He is willing to “reroute” me when I get off
track and bring me right back into His presence. When I am struggling I love to listen to this
song,
Change This Heart – Sidewalk Prophets
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