Sunday, July 19, 2026

Have you ever tried to change after hearing a deeply convicting sermon? 

You tell yourself, I’m going to try harder. You make a plan and follow it. But before long, you're right back where you started. 

Why? Because it’s not the behavior that needs to change … our hearts do. 

Luke 6:45 NIV
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

The behavior we feel convicted to change is a symptom of what’s in our heart. Therefore, we will never experience true freedom until our hearts are changed. And unfortunately, trying to fix ourselves leaves us feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. We feel like a failure.

Praise God we don’t have to change ourselves. God loves us so much that he wants to heal our hearts and change us in the process. In fact, he’s the only one who can.

In Megan Fate Marshman’s Bible study, Relaxed Letting Go of Self-Reliance and Trusting God, she discusses three steps that lead to heart change (video 2, page 3.

The first step is opening our hearts to God. For example, you could pray: God, I heard this sermon on praying. I felt convicted. Why don’t I pray more? Help me. I need you to change me. 

The second step is letting God do the work of transforming our hearts. This is part of the faith journey. We learn to know God better through prayer, Bible study, and participating in Groups. As we grow in our faith, we learn to trust God and surrender more to him. We learn to abide in him and let him work.

The third step is to let the Holy Spirit lead you. We do this through listening and obeying, trusting that God truly loves us and has a perfect plan for our lives. He wants so much for us. 

As our hearts change and we become secure in our faith, we are able to sit back and enjoy the journey! This is how we find true freedom.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take.

Questions:
Why is heart change more important than changing your behavior?

What do you need to surrender to God?

Why should you let God change your heart? 

Next Steps: 
Read and meditate on Proverbs 3:5-6. Pray, and ask God to help you change your heart. Get honest with him. Follow Megan’s steps for heart change. 

Prayer: 
Dear God, I am so grateful for you. I am overwhelmed by your amazing love. Help me, Lord, to pour my heart out to you, knowing that you know everything about me and love me anyway. Change my heart, and help me to be more and more like you. I worship and praise you! Amen.

Written by Marsha Raymond, a regular contributor to the Daily. 

Looking for the Bible for Grown-Ups week 2 Discussion Questions? Find them in this week’s Message Notes on the CedarCreek App, or click here: Discussion Questions