Heart of Stone

Ezekiel 36:26

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove form you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

He’s so hard-hearted. She’s so cold. How often have we heard these descriptions of others or even used them ourselves? We often label people who are self-centered or unemotional as hard-hearted or cold. We even say that we have become “jaded” by our past experiences. The idea is that past hurts and wrongs make us hard and unfeeling.

In our sinful nature, it’s easy to be hard-hearted. Past hurts and wrongs damage us. They make us put up walls of protection around our emotions to keep people from being able to hurt us again. We try to suppress or turn off our more tender feelings in the hopes that it will protect us. The tendency to wall ourselves off from the outside world is a normal one, but walling our hearts off from others also closes us off to God.

Isn’t it wonderful, then, that God promises us that when we allow Him into our lives, He will give us a new heart? God is able to take our brokenness and make us whole. He is able to heal our past hurts and right our past wrongs. He repairs our hearts and gives us the ability to show our emotions and trust in others without fear. It’s not that we won’t be hurt again, but rather that we know that God is able to take care of it for us and to keep it from negatively impacting our lives in the long run. We rely on God to make it right, rather than on the person who committed the wrong. We know that God is faithful to do this because He always keeps His promises.

So if you’re suffering from past hurts, or you’ve hardened your heart towards others, turn your heart over to God. Allow Him to do a work of healing within you, to give you a knew heart in place of your heart of stone.

Father, thank you that you make all things new. Thank you that you can take our past hurts and wounds and that you can heal them. We know that if we let you into our hearts and into our lives, you can reshape them. You can give us new hearts that are free to love without fear. Create a new heart in me, God. Give me a heart that is quick to respond to your Spirit and full of your love for the world around me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.