Persuading Your Heart

Let’s talk a little more about what’s involved in persuading our heart. Persuading is the action or fact of being persuaded to do or believe something. Notice persuading is an action word meaning we are involved in the persuading. It is the action we do in believe something. It isn’t done to us. We are doing the action.

The world operates on the same principle that you can persuade your heart to believe whatever it wants. You see this truth and principle portrayed daily on TV and in movies. You’ve also seen it yourself because you’ve persuaded your own heart. You may not have thought about it but you’ve persuaded your heart in countless ways throughout your life. You’re persuading your heart right now either to believe what God’s Word says, what you’re reading, and follow it up with doing, or not.

The more you delve into understanding how you persuade your heart in the truth of God, the more you find that persuading involves agreement, belief, confidence, obeying, trusting, and yielding. Those are amplified meanings of the Greek word peithos used in many NT verses. Whenever you receive a scripture truth and begin to stand on it in faith, you are coming into agreement, confident with what God has declared in His truth and promise to you. The more you feed on that Word, the more you find your heart yielding to it and cementing His truth, trusting His Word. That’s persuading your heart. You can just as easily persuade your heart in unbelief by not receiving God’s truth and believing it. But why not come into agreement in what God has already declared and established for you? Do as Abraham did (Romans 4:20-21) and don’t waver in unbelief but grow strong in faith, being fully assured (persuaded) that what God had promised, He was able to do.

So, have you made up your mind that God is good and wants you to experience His goodness in your life? I hope so because it involves your faith and believing. It isn’t dependent on the national economy or what President is in office or what is going on in other countries of the world. It isn’t dependent on anything in this world. It is being persuaded as Paul Ellis says that God, who has already given you His Son, will supply you with everything you need according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

One important aspect in persuading your heart is the necessity to renew your mind. Here is where many believers come up short because they haven’t been taught to renew their mind in the finished work of Jesus. Many believers are still stuck in a law-based spiritual walk based on what they must DO and not what Jesus has already DONE. But when you renew your mind in what Jesus has already and forever completed for you, you connect your faith to what Jesus has promised, thus allowing your heart to be persuaded. And then from a persuaded heart, you believe. So, the more often you renew your mind, feeding your faith, the more often you’ll be able to persuade your heart in believing that God’s way and truth is where you want to be.

Renewing your mind is an easy process but for countless years the church hasn’t emphasized the importance of renewing your mind in the Word. Instead they seem to have pushed ‘you’d better make sure you’re doing enough’ which puts the responsibility of receiving anything from God solely on what you do. Sorry but that isn’t what Jesus provided for you. He did ALL the work so you don’t have to. You only need to persuade your heart to believe His goodness, renewing your mind in His provisions.

TRUTH: Start with letting your heart be persuaded in what Jesus has already done for you. Continue to feed on the truth of the Word, allowing it to build and release faith and you’ll persuade your heart to believe. It’s a continual renewing. Or another way of saying it is, it’s a continual reminding yourself of everything Jesus did for you. Because He did it all, you don’t have to do anything but believe. As you persuade your heart to believe, you’ll receive.

Don’t renew your mind in the do’s and don’ts you may have heard but renew your mind and heart in the goodness of God, His love for you, and the finished work of Jesus.

APPLICATION: It’s time to let your heart be persuaded in ALL that God has told you and provided for you.

Spend some time meditating and cementing these verses in your heart, allowing your mind to be renewed in all God has for you.

Romans 12:2 NASB – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Make It Personal: I won’t conform to the world’s way of thinking but to God’s and I will renew my mind in God’s Word and the finished work of Jesus.

Romans 4:20-21 KJV – “[But Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, And being fully persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”

Make It Personal: I choose to believe God’s Word and His promises, and I am fully persuaded that God is faithful in my life.

Psalm 16:7 NIV – “I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.”

Make It Personal: I am confident the Lord continually guides me and even gives my heart instructions at night.

Ask Yourself:

How are you seeing a change in your thinking as you renew your mind?

How is confessing His Word encouraging you? (For example, I will renew my mind in God’s Word and the finished work of Jesus for me).

In what way(s) have you been freed from the responsibility to get God’s approval by your doing or following rules?

How has the Lord reminded you to persuade your heart today?