A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. (Acts 16:14)
Do you remember the exact moment you received Jesus into your heart? Or if you haven’t given your whole heart to Jesus, what’s holding you back? As we read the book of Acts, we see an overall theme of the “acts” of Jesus and the Holy Spirit working through the apostles to teach and build the early Church. Luke, author of Acts, writes several testimonies of Jews and Gentiles accepting Jesus—all which were the doing of Christ and the Spirit, not the apostles themselves (2:47; 8:27-29; 9:5-6,31; 10:44; 14:27). The conversion of the Gentile woman, Lydia in Acts 16:14 clearly reveals that God is sovereign over her change of heart.
God planned to open Lydia’s heart and ours well before He made the world for His purpose of us praising and glorifying Christ (Eph. 1:4-5,11; 2 Thess. 2:13-14). This was all part of God’s promise and covenant to Abraham that Abraham’s descendants, both Jews and Gentiles would inherit God’s kingdom through faith in Christ (Rom. 4:13,16; 9:8; Gal 3:29). God wants us to respond in faith after He opens our hearts and calls us to Him. We cannot come to Him and save ourselves on our own, but God gives us new life through the finished work of Jesus (2 Tm. 1:9-10).
Are there times when you feel discouraged or lonely, not feeling like responding to Christ’s call for you? Do you sometimes ask yourself, “why am I here?” or “why am I suffering?” I’ve felt all these emotions as someone who once lived comfortably for myself, yet without Christ. I would try to close my heart from Him. What’s reassuring is that no matter how hard we try to close Him off, God is powerful and gracious to save us by opening our hearts. This too is encouraging for us to know when responding to our call to share the Gospel to our neighbors. God can open their hearts the way he opened Lydia’s heart and our hearts through the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 8:11). Let’s trust in this power and may our open hearts respond in faith.