Change of Heart

2 Chronicles 33:10-13, "The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God."

As I have been reading the stories of the great kings of old, I have learned many things. One of these things is that no matter how bad you have been in your past, if you will humble yourself, God will forgive you. Manasseh's story begins with with this statement; "He did what was evil in the LORD's sight." He worshiped other god's and even sacrificed his children on alters to them. But then, when all had failed and he was taken as a slave to another land, it was then that he was humble and called out to God. He did not just call out to God in his moment of distress, but he was humbled and had a change of heart. He changed and let go of all that had at one time been so precious to him. His change was real and his heart remained humble toward God.

This is often the part that we have the hardest time with. We see how we have done wrong. We have felt the sting of our sin. Yet, to permanently change; to let go of what we have become accustom with; to allow God to give us new friends; to let God give us a new chance at a new life, that is hard and scary. But, this is part of the test: to see if we have really repented and had a change of heart, or if we are just sorry because of the consequences of our choices. James 4:5-7, "'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." If we are humble we will do what we know God is calling us to do. We will not insist that we do things our way, but we will lay down our own desires for Him. If we will humble ourselves long enough and stay strong with God, the devil will flee from us and no longer tempt us in the old ways we lived.

Oswald Chambers, "We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God. Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? ...Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life."

Have I humbled myself enough and let go of my own desires, to allow God to change me? Christ came as the perfect example of how a humble person is to live. He did not come so that He could be comfortable. He came so that we would know what was truly important and that importance is to be one with God. He wants us to know what it is to live a life for Him. And after we have turned our life over to Him, then He will lift us up and give us true life.