Have you ever felt like you were moving rocks when trying to get close to someone’s heart? Sometimes that is exactly what you do is moving rocks. At our church last year, there was a guy who talked about this. He said in the area of the world where he is at he has to move rocks from people’s hearts before they can even think about Christ.
If you start talking about how great God is to someone and you get a response from them that you can’t prove it to them then you may have to move some rocks before you can touch their heart.
We all go through things in life and some people go through more. When you are talking to someone you have no idea what they have been through or what they are currently going through. No matter what, if they see that you care then you will have an opening to get close to them.
It’s like Zig Ziglar always said “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. People aren’t going to listen to you until you listen to their deepest thoughts. If you are trying to preach to them without getting to know them then they are going to see you the way they see everyone else. Remember they do not know your heart.
You will not get close to people if you are doing all the talking. God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we may listen twice as much as we talk. As long as you are talking, you will never learn anything about the other person.
Moving rocks away from the heart is a tough thing to do. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and patience. Some people just don’t trust anymore because they have been let down by so many people. They have found that it is just easier to not get close to anyone.
So what do you have to do when people’s hearts are hardened with rocks?
1) Don’t Quit on Them. If you try and get close to them and they see that you give up way too soon they will say to themselves see I knew they didn’t care. They were just like everyone else.
2) Stay in the Word. You have to stay in the word daily when you are dealing with hardened people. It can be very draining so God needs to keep you filled up and the way he does this is by you staying in the word.
3) Pray everyday for this person. Prayer works like magic. It is God’s way of communicating through you. If you stay in prayer long enough God will guide you on what to do.
4) Love on Them Unconditionally. This can be hard especially if you don’t feel the love in return. They may need someone to love on them like they have never been loved on before. Ask yourself what would Jesus do? Jesus was the great example of the kind of love we are supposed to share with people.
5) Find a Support Partner. This person can be your spouse or another man if you are a man or another woman if you are a woman. Let’s keep this pure. You need this support partner so that you can lean on them when times are tough. Times will get tough when you are trying to move rocks from people’s hearts.
6) Do things with Them. Find a hobby they like and learn how to do it with them. Enjoying hobbies with people is one of the best ways to get close to them. You start to open their hearts because now you have something in common. Hobbies are a great way to expand your environment so that you can broaden your life. This doesn’t mean you spend all of your time with them but show them you want to get to know them.
7) Find Common Ground. This is kind of another point to the last point but find common ground that you can work with. Maybe both of you were born in the same area. Maybe you both are married and have kids. Talk about the things that you have in common. This will build a bridge to a new beginning for them.
8) Be There When They Need You. This is so important because if they call on you and you can never be there for them then they will quit trying. They will understand if you can’t be there everytime but you need to make them a priority. They are becoming a friend. Show them that you value their friendship.
9) Don’t Fall Trying to help. Here is what I mean on this one. I see people all the time decide that they are going to a club with their friend. They say they are just trying to be there for them. They start doing this a lot then next thing you know they are just as bad off as the person they are helping.
You have to stay away from situations where you can fall so that you can stay strong enough to be there for them. If you fall then you can’t help them. If they see you staying faithful to God then when they really need someone to talk to they will call on you because they know you aren’t just all talk.
They need you to be who you say you are. They don’t need you to sugarcoat things. They want you to be the you that God called you to be. I see many people sugarcoat God just so they can relate to the other person. People see right through that. You will never get close to them if you do that. They want to know that you are different. Prove to them that you are different.
Don’t show them a Christian they can look at and say there goes just another hypocrite. Show them someone who believes what they are saying and someone who stands up for God when needed. Show them someone who can be a friend while still keeping their values in check.
If you follow those 9 things, I know deep down you will be on your way to moving rocks in someone’s life. It will not be easy but it is worth it when you see people open up to you.
Ask God to help you with whoever you have on your mind. Ask him to guide you on what to say and give you the strength to not fall when hanging out with them. Ask him to give you the courage to stand even though you may be shot down when trying to help someone. Ask God to heal any judgmental attitudes you may have in your heart.
Be Inspired or Be Left Behind!
Chris Benton