“I will plant a new heart and new spirit inside of you. I will take out your stubborn, stony heart and give you a willing, tender heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26, The Voice).
God promises this great exchange. Old for new. Stone for flesh.
Before we can receive the fullness of what the Lord desires to give us, we must make room in our hearts by allowing Him to do some deep cleaning.
This cleaning process is rarely comfortable. In fact, it is usually quite the opposite. It can feel exhausting and invasive.
What does this promise mean for me today?
When we partner with the Lord in our health journey, desiring to bring Him honor through our pursuit of wellness, He is faithful to bring about this divine exchange. Old for new. Stone for flesh. He gives us a responsive and willing heart. When Jesus plants this new heart within us, it still takes time to grow. He gives us the seed to grow our new heart. If we bring Him an offering of faith, He will cause the seed to grow roots.
He is the gardener of our hearts. He will uproot what does not belong and what does not produce fruit. As we spend time with Jesus, He begins to prepare the soil of our hearts to receive this new seed. He will plant it. He will make it grow. Jesus promises to work out this miraculous exchange of heart. But how do we step into this promise? As beautiful as His promise is, can it really be that simple?
Jesus promises to do the heavy lifting – so what is required of us? An offering of faith. Seek Him in prayer and talk to him about our longing for a new heart. We have to ask to partner with Him and trust that He is our source of strength instead of trying to be better on our own.