Change of Heart

Back-to-school season holds memories for all of us. You may remember feelings of excitement about the possibilities for the new year, or you may recall feelings of trepidation and anxiousness. Maybe you had both. Undoubtedly, every new school year brings change: new teachers and new classrooms, sometimes a new school or new friends. 

You see, change is inevitable with growth. We see this evidence in nature, and we see it in our children. God is in the business of transformation, for our good and His glory.

Through the prophet Ezekiel, He outlines this path for us: “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God” (36:24-28).

I think of when God physically moved me from locations and situations. I think of the idols in my life that He has toppled, and I thank Him that I am not the same person I was last week, or five years ago, or 20 years ago. I know that He is still changing me today and ever turning my heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

But those changes were not easy. I continue to fight every one of them. Grief, confusion, pain, and fear often accompany the changes we experience, but He uses them in His work of transformation. If not for us, then for someone who is watching.

You see, while our formal education may have ended years ago, our learning continues. Back-to-school isn’t just a time of year for us; it’s a posture that keeps us humble and pliable. Without change, how are we to look more and more like Christ?

Let’s pray.

Dear Jesus, thank you for meeting us right where we are and changing our hearts and minds to be more like you. Teach us to embrace change and to anticipate with joy the growth it produces in us. Be with all of our children in this new school year, and help us to foster the growth that you have in store for them. We love you. Amen.