The Lord changes minds and changes hearts.
Jesus changes minds and changes hearts. Here's how I know.
It's always been a problem for me. Deep down I feel it building. It could be something simple like someone not going the speed limit or tale-gating me or pulling out in front of me. That's right. I have road rage. So, when I pulled up to Dunkin' Donuts today--that's right, I'm a Dunkin' fan--I was immediately met by a car sitting on the side of the road. Annoyed, thinking the girl driving wasn't sure where she was going or had pulled off for some reason, I drove around her and into line. I was soon met by the reason she had stopped. The line was long and wrapped around the building. I began to feel bad thinking about how I had cut in front of her in line. When I got to the intercom to order, I ordered a donut and told the lady at the window to give it to the girl behind me and tell her I was sorry for cutting her.
Why is this important? Because any other time, I would not have cared. I would've tried to justify my actions saying things like, "Well she should've pulled in as I did." I would have been bitter and angry at the girl for whatever reason, and I would've carried that bitterness and anger all day telling people about this girl and how I thought she should've done this or that. But while studying God's Word, I have become less about me. I've begun to not care so much about who pulled out in front of who and who was going slow in the fast lane. Jesus changed my heart and I realized that all of that little stuff didn't matter as much as I thought.
Jesus didn't just change my heart, though. He also changed the heart of Paul. The Apostle Paul (once Saul) is one of my favorite people in the Bible. He spent so much of his life being angry and bitter about these Christ-followers that he arrested, jailed, and even murdered as many of them as he could find. But as he was on his way to Damascus (Acts 9) he was blinded by the Lord who spoke to him saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And then the Lord told him to continue to Damascus. The Lord had a plan and work to be done by Paul (Saul) there. The Lord then sent Ananias to Paul to heal him. Ananias did and said everything he could to change the Lord's mind but the Lord had a plan. After Paul's healing, Paul immediately went on to preach. He began to share the gospel just as the Lord commands us to.
The Lord changed the angry, bitter, murderous heart of Saul into this loving, knowledgable, kind, heart of Paul. If He can do that to such a wicked man, what makes you think He can't do whatever it is you are asking of Him? What makes you think He can't do it for you?
My Dunkin' Donuts miss hap probably means nothing to many. You may be thinking, "Why worry about it? It was an accident." But because the Lord is in me and had changed my heart, I can't allow myself to be okay with even the most minor things. I pray that the Lord is working in your heart today. I pray that He is working in the hearts of your loved ones and our future spouses. I pray that He causes you to think about others rather than just pass things up. And I pray that He keeps you calm, cool, and collected in times of stress.