Few people embrace revolutionary change until the pain of sameness is greater than the pain of change. Through some means in our life, we realize change is necessary. Pain is a powerful motivator.
When we realize that we NEED change, our heart accepts change. Until we realize our need, our hearts will stay the same. God, in His faithfulness, changes our heart through salvation and relationship. He provides the will and the work to change us from the inside.
1 Thessalonians 5:24
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
Philippians 1:6
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
God draws our hearts toward Him to resolve the pain and dissatisfaction in our life.
Magnetism is a physical way to understand this spiritual concept. Just as iron responds to a magnet, we are created to respond to the Creator. We experience the evidence of His Spirit and are attracted to the power of God. But, because we cannot see or touch it, we struggle to describe it. God draws us to Himself, much like magnetic attraction, an unseen yet powerful force. Invisible force with visible results.
Jesus used the wind to explain this aspect of God when talking to Nicodemus.
John 3:7-8
“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
This pull toward God is initiated by His great desire for us (2 Peter 3:9). It is His kindness and patience that leads us to Him (Rom. 2:4). We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
Our primary love relationship is our love for God. The greatest commandment according to Jesus is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind” (Matt 22:37). Love is more than a heart emotion; it is a conscious acknowledgement and commitment to the Lord. The words “greatest and most important” indicate the priority to love God. Above all else, we love and grow in relationship with God.
God creates us for relationship with Him. Jesus speaks of this relationship when He prays for His followers in John 17.
John 17:3
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Jesus acknowledges an intimate and personal relationship that produces a purposeful and eternal life. This is not a casual acquaintance of convenience, but a deep and committed relationship.
A relationship with God changes us forever. Sin is forgiven and new life is given through the Holy Spirit, who lives in us. Jesus provides the way to eternal relationship with God and gives us a new heart designed for change and growth. Scripture probes the desires, thoughts and motivations to reveal the “state of the heart”, the place where we are transformed.
Scripture implores us to seek God with our heart, soul and mind—the core of our being, the place where our spiritual life connects to physical life. In the humble posture of seeking God, He invites us to abundant and purposeful life as we respond to Him.