Heart change creates life change.

Source

Change your heart and your life will follow.

Such a simple but powerful quote.

When I heard this last week while attending a Young Adult ministry at my church, I was instantly convicted. I've been pondering on it since then and decided I absolutely wanted to share it with you.

So many times we go through life stuck, struggling, and unhappy. We think it's our circumstances or the world around us, but sometimes it's just us. 

Our hearts are hardened, sad, disappointed, neglected, and it shows throughout our everyday life. We say out of our mouths that we want to be happy but inside it's a dark and lonely pit. 

To really pinpoint it, we say one thing out of our mouths but feel completely different in our hearts.



For the past twenty-one days, I've been participating in a fast with my church. I couldn't fast the usual things like food and the like so I decided I would fast caffeine and fast food restaurants. Another one of my commitments during these twenty-one days was that I would take the time everyday and pray diligently and intentionally for my family; specifically my father and sister-in-law who I've spoken about here before. 

As I kept my commitment to praying for them, I began to see things change. Not in the way I was hoping, but things changed nonetheless. 

You see, I was praying that God would work in their lives and change them so our families could be reconciled, but what He did instead was change my heart towards them. I'd always said that I didn't have a problem with them and that I loved them regardless of their actions, but I see now that it was simply lip service. 

Through this time of fasting and praying my heart really has been softened and reshaped. So much that I actually enjoy talking to my father (something that hasn't happened since I was about 10) and I actually found myself reaching out to my estranged sister-in-law. 

The funny part is, I didn't care about how they would react to me reaching out to them. I just wanted to show them the love of Christ and through that, God could do His work. 

At first I pondered what I would say. Would I come off vulnerable? How would they respond? I mean I didn't want to get my heart broken or seem weak.

As I spoke to my dad in the last week, I could truly tell he appreciated me reaching out to him. Although he seems like a tough and sometimes awful person, God has shown me he's not. He's just a person like me who makes bad decisions.

And for my sister-in-law who I reached out to yesterday, I was actually really shocked that she responded. It was short, but it was a response nonetheless. My hope is that my simple action could bloom into something wonderful and magnificent for our families.


You see, when we determine to change our heart in how we deal with situations, it's impossible for our lives not to follow suit. Be determined to make a change.

What type of situation are you dealing with in your life? Are you simply giving lip service and in need of divine heart change? 

I hope you remember that God is willing and able to change any situation when we offer it up to him in prayer. Even if you're not a believer or a spiritual person, you can still simply ask God to change your heart. 

You'll be surprised at what He will do.