I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give
you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
From our hearts comes
our response to God. Apart from the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, our
hearts are extremely deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). David prayed that God would
cleanse him from the ravages of his sin and purify his heart (Ps. 51:10). God’s
greatest desire is that His people love Him with all their hearts (Deut. 6:5).
Jesus said we are blessed if our hearts are pure (Matt. 5:8).
Sin hardens the heart
(Matt. 13:4, 19). The more sin we allow to pass over our hearts and through our
lives, the more resistant we become to a word from God. The sin of
unforgiveness stiffens our hearts. We cannot continue to resist the prompting
of the Holy Spirit without becoming hardened against Him. Exposing ourselves to
evil and ungodly influences desensitizes us to God and His word. Over time, our
hearts become like stone, unreceptive to a fresh word from God. We become
anesthetized to sin.
Has your heart grown
hard toward God? Do you feel as though nothing could soften it? God has a
solution. He will separate you from the influences that are destroying you
(Ezek. 36:24). He will cleanse you from all filthiness and remove everything
that has taken His place in your affections (Ezek. 36:25). He will remove your
heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, tender toward Him and His
word. If your love for God is not what it should be, ask Him to renew your heart
and restore your devotion to Him.
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