A heart of flesh 

“I will remove…your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26 NIV 

When you have been hurt, it’s easy to put up barriers. But be careful—a protective shell can turn into a “heart of stone”: resistant, unreceptive, impenetrable even to God. One Christian author wrote, “The only thing more painful and with…more serious ramifications than a broken heart is a frozen one...Paul warns us [about]…allowing our hearts to harden. ‘They are darkened in their understanding…separated from the life of God…due to…hardening of their hearts’ (Ephesians 4:18 NIV). A soft heart is not weak or naive. To the contrary, wisdom, experience, and faith make for a strong heart, weathered by compassion and seasoned with mercy. A hardened heart is not protected, it’s merely encased in injury, and it is painfully obvious to everyone but you…After a weekend that felt like one painful test after another, I called my best friend in tears. ‘Why won’t this end? How strong does God want me to be? I can’t take it anymore!’ Being a godly woman…she replied, ‘Perhaps it’s the other way around. You have been strong enough. God wants your heart to be soft and open.’ I hadn’t thought of it that way. In response to heartbreak, betrayal, or shame, it is…easy to develop a heart of stone. We think this will protect us from…more pain. The problem with stone is…it feels nothing—no pain, but no love. It is a trap that feels like self-preservation, but it is actually self-destruction. [God] wants to give you a heart of flesh. With His love you can emerge from a painful season of loss with a heart that is yielding, porous, and ready to receive the gifts He has…for you.”

The Word for You Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from Celebration Enterprises, Inc. Copyright © 2024