In Lydia's conversion we find treasures of truth. Watch how God orchestrates every detail!

She was a businesswoman from Thyatira, dealing in precious purple cloth. But at exactly the right moment, we find her in Philippi—precisely where Paul would preach. Providence, that faithful handmaid of grace, led her to the perfect spot at the perfect time.

And grace was already at work, preparing her soul for blessing—grace preparing for grace! She didn't know the Savior yet, but as a Jewish woman, she possessed truths that would become stepping stones to Jesus. God wastes nothing. Every truth you know may be preparing you for transformation.

Her conversion came through ordinary means. On the Sabbath, she went to the place of prayer, and there—there!—her life was changed forever. Never neglect the means of grace! God may bless us anywhere, but we have far greater reason to expect his blessing when we gather with his saints.

Now mark these crucial words: "Whose heart the Lord opened." She did not open her own heart. Her prayers didn't do it. Paul's preaching didn't do it. The Lord himself must open the heart to receive the things that make for our peace. He alone holds the key. He alone can unlock and enter. He is the heart's master because he is the heart's maker.

What evidence showed her opened heart? First, immediate obedience. The moment she believed in Jesus, she was baptized. What a sweet sign of a humble heart—when God's child obeys not from necessity, not from fear of damnation, but from simple love and communion with their Master!

Next came love, overflowing in grateful kindness to the apostles. She opened her home, she served, she gave. Love for the saints has always marked the true convert. Those who do nothing for Christ or his church? They give sorry evidence of an "opened" heart.

Lord, give me—evermore give me—an opened heart!