Open Hearts

One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. Acts 16:14

The Bible tells the story of how Lydia came to know about Jesus. ‘One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home’ (vv. 14-15). One of the key phrases in the story is ‘the Lord opened her heart’. Everyone has an emptiness within them that only God can fill, and He wants to use us to fill it, but when people’s hearts are closed to new ideas and concepts, it’s hard for us to share with them about Jesus. But it’s God’s role to open their heart, not ours. We need to pray that He’d open people’s hearts, and then do our part by sharing the good news about Jesus with them. The Bible reminds us: ‘How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?’ (Romans 10:14). Telling other people about Jesus can be pretty challenging. We worry about saying the wrong things, or how the other person will respond to us. But the thing is, there isn’t a scale of ‘evangelism success’. There’s no right or wrong way to evangelize. We don’t need to be comparing conversion numbers with others. And if people aren’t willing to listen, then that doesn’t mean we’re failures at evangelizing. God just calls us to talk to others about Him, and then leave the rest to Him. Show people Jesus – that’s all!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help us to show people You and let our actions show people Your Mercy and Compassion. In Your Precious Name, Amen