How Do You Change Someone’s Mind?

Ezra 6:22 – For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because the LORD had filled them with joy by CHANGING THE ATTITUDE OF THE KING of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

6:22  With great joy they celebrated the Feast of Unraised Bread for seven days. God had plunged them into a sea of joy; he had CHANGED THE MIND of the king of Assyria to back them in rebuilding The Temple of God, the God of Israel.

If you had the chance and ability, whose mind would you want to change? How do you change someone’s mind? If there was a sure way to change someone’s mind, wouldn’t that be a skill we all seek?

We work with people and their attitude towards us can favor us or affect us. If they have a good attitude there is no problem, we celebrate and praise God. If they have a bad attitude, we get frustrated and wish we could change their mind. How do you change someone’s mind?

Sometimes in desperation to change someone’s mind we place ourselves in harms way. We stoop too low, below what is dignified to do, hoping they would change their attitude or mind towards us, and mostly they don’t. How do you change someone’s mind?

You have messed up once and a critical partner has developed complete doubt on you. Unless the partner’s attitude changes, your future business prospects are in jeopardy. How do you change someone’s mind?

Someone has been told lies about you. That person foolishly believes the lies and and develops a negative attitude towards you. It’s foolish to form opinions about people based on sycophants stories who praise you and tell you lies that favor them. Now you have to deal with someone who has formed a negative attitude towards you. No amount of explanation seems to work. This is affecting you seriously. This happens a lot at the work place. You have a boss who believes everything they hear without effort to verify. Now you are in trouble. How do you change someone’s mind?

You love someone but they don’t love you back. You try and do everything to win them but the further they drift away. How do you change someone’s mind?

You have to deal with someone of another race, tribe, social class or even religion. They have a formed opinion about you without giving you a chance to prove otherwise. Yet your success seems to depend on them changing their attitude towards you. How do you change someone’s mind?

You need government help but it can only happen if the officer in charge changes his or her mind. You are stranded and all you need is change of mind or attitude. How do you change someone’s mind?

Israelites were slaves in Babylon. When the Medo-Persians defeated Babylon, they remained in Babylon but now under Medo-Persian reign. The attitude of Babylon and Medo-Persia towards Israel was bad. Under normal circumstances they would not make any decisions in favor of Israelites. For Israel to prosper, their slave masters needed a change of mind. How do you change someone’s mind?

In our text today, Israelites celebrate for seven days because God changed the mind of their slave masters. A king who should have hated Israelites, allowed Nehemiah to go and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. The king had a change of mind. Who changed his mind? How do you change someone’s mind?

During Ezra’s time the king who should hate Israel with a passion, makes a decision to fund the building and furnishings of the temple in Jerusalem for Israelites to worship in. The king who should hate Israel even orders restoration of all wealth that Nebuchadnezzar stole from Jerusalem. The king changed his attitude towards Israelites. How do you change someone’s mind?

Israelites therefore celebrated saying, God changed the mind of the king. Israelites praised God for changing the attitude of the king towards them, to the extent of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and temple of God. It is God who changed the king’s mind.

We still have minds that need to be changed in our favor. We still have attitudes that need to be changed in our favor. God can and will do it, if we ask Him. In Jesus’s name, Amen!

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