New Heart, New Ears
Ezekiel 36:26–27
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Thought:
John 8:47 shows a serious truth. Some people cannot truly hear God’s Word because they are not “of God.” Their hearts are like a hard stone toward God. This can sound hopeless, but Scripture gives a wonderful promise. God Himself can change the heart.
In Ezekiel, God says He will take away the stony heart and give a heart of flesh. A stony heart is hard, cold, and unresponsive. A heart of flesh is soft, living, and responsive. It can feel. It can receive. It can be moved by God.
God also says He will put His Spirit within us and cause us to walk in His ways. That means true obedience to God does not begin with human strength or self effort. It begins with God giving new spiritual life. When a person is born again, the Spirit opens their ears to hear, opens their eyes to see, and gives them new desires. Then the Word of God is no longer foolish or unbearable. It becomes light and life.
This is why 1 Corinthians 2:14 says the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. Without the Spirit, the Word seems foolish. With the Spirit, the same Word becomes precious, powerful, and beautiful.
So if you feel cold, hard, and unmoved by God’s Word, do not just try harder to feel something. Come to God and ask Him for a new heart. Ask Him to save you. Ask Him to put His Spirit within you. He delights to take dead hearts and make them alive, so that His people can truly hear His voice.
Prayer:
Lord God, I see that without You my heart is hard and blind. I cannot change myself. I ask You today for a new heart. Take away my stony heart and give me a heart of flesh. Put Your Spirit within me. Cause me to love Your Word, to receive it, and to walk in Your ways. Make me truly “of God” by Your grace. In Jesus name, Amen.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Thought:
John 8:47 shows a serious truth. Some people cannot truly hear God’s Word because they are not “of God.” Their hearts are like a hard stone toward God. This can sound hopeless, but Scripture gives a wonderful promise. God Himself can change the heart.
In Ezekiel, God says He will take away the stony heart and give a heart of flesh. A stony heart is hard, cold, and unresponsive. A heart of flesh is soft, living, and responsive. It can feel. It can receive. It can be moved by God.
God also says He will put His Spirit within us and cause us to walk in His ways. That means true obedience to God does not begin with human strength or self effort. It begins with God giving new spiritual life. When a person is born again, the Spirit opens their ears to hear, opens their eyes to see, and gives them new desires. Then the Word of God is no longer foolish or unbearable. It becomes light and life.
This is why 1 Corinthians 2:14 says the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. Without the Spirit, the Word seems foolish. With the Spirit, the same Word becomes precious, powerful, and beautiful.
So if you feel cold, hard, and unmoved by God’s Word, do not just try harder to feel something. Come to God and ask Him for a new heart. Ask Him to save you. Ask Him to put His Spirit within you. He delights to take dead hearts and make them alive, so that His people can truly hear His voice.
Prayer:
Lord God, I see that without You my heart is hard and blind. I cannot change myself. I ask You today for a new heart. Take away my stony heart and give me a heart of flesh. Put Your Spirit within me. Cause me to love Your Word, to receive it, and to walk in Your ways. Make me truly “of God” by Your grace. In Jesus name, Amen.
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