A Heart of Flesh

It doesn't take many years of living to realize that the insults and assaults of life can leave us with a very wounded heart and pain that only God can heal. If we're not careful we become jaded and cynical, bitter and walled off. It is this reaction to hurt, pain . . . life, that turns a soft, reachable, touchable heart into a heart of stone that only the love of God can reach. While Ezekiel was in exile with more than 3,000 Jews, he received his call from the Almighty to become a prophet. Ezekiel's job was to urge the exiles to renew their commitment to the one true God. It is really amazing to me that God is ALL His glory spoke directly to men then . . . and He still speaks directly to us today. One of the messages that God gave to Ezekiel was found in Chapter 11, verse 19 when God said to Ezekiel "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit. I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people and I will be their God." Oh, dear ones, I encourage you, according to the unending Grace of God that you allow Him to soften your hearts and whatever pain and hurt and injury is making you cynical, leaving you jaded or bitter, you will turn over to Him and allow Him to restore you. You are not alone. We are all living the same lives, suffering the same hurts but God is STILL God and the same God who spoke then, is still speaking today and the message of His love and healing is still the same. Let's listen, be still and know that He, indeed, is God. He loves you . . . I do too. In His Glorious Love - AA