A Change of Heart
“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance, I saw a vision…”
Acts 11: 5a
This is a tiny excerpt of a story in the Book of Acts where Peter is out sharing the news of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and his journey takes a surprising detour. In Chapter 11, the Jews in Jerusalem are criticizing him for his terrible choices while on the road. So, starting at the beginning of the story, he explains how the meeting unfolded. It begins with a vision as he was praying in the City of Joppa.
It is incredible to read of Peter’s vision, but what is more remarkable is what comes from it – a huge change of heart. After his vision, Peter, along with six of his Jewish brothers go to the home of Cornelius the centurion – a Gentile. As the disciples begin to speak, the Spirit of God comes upon everyone in the house and the disciples are flabbergasted! Until this point, they had only seen God meet powerfully with people who were like them. Yet, here God was, undeniably at work, blessing the Gentiles and sending the gift of the Spirit. It is hard for us to imagine how astonishing this would have been to Peter and those with him.
All this leads me to wonder this: where am I hardhearted today? Where have I settled with what I have assumed I “know” about God, but not really leaned into His word to try and understand differently? Where has God not been able to move because I have been hesitant?
I pray that just as Peter had a change of heart, we may too; that we might experience a deeper encounter with God through our prayers; that God would give us a fresh vision to see situations differently. I pray that, as a result of this, we would find God in unexpected people, in unexpected places, and our hearts would be expanded as a result.
