Today is the day for you to receive great healing in your heart. Throughout the world today, millions of people are heartbroken. They continue to suffer deep emotional wounds because of rejection, abandonment, betrayal, and pain they have experienced. Maybe you are one of them, but you do not have to continue living with these wounds in your heart. These negative feelings can be eliminated from your life. Your heart can be healed.
In Ezekiel 36:26-27 God said: “I will give you a new heart and I will give you a new spirit; I will take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. "
These verses originally applied to the people of Israel who had been taken as prisoners into Babylon. Everything they had known was taken from them. They were strangers in a strange land. They felt abandoned and hopeless. Their hearts had become hard and their spirit was bitter and broken. But God promised that everything would change. They would have a change of environment by being able to return to their homeland and more importantly they themselves would change. They would have a heart of flesh instead of stone, and a new spirit. These verses also apply to us and show us important keys to having a healed heart:
1. To have a healed heart you must have your heart of stone removed
a. You must recognise that your heart has become hard
b. Repent that your heart has become hard (Psalm 51:10)
2. To have a healed heart you need a tender heart
a. A heart of flesh is a soft heart
b. A heart of flesh is a kind heart
c. A heart of flesh is a generous heart
d. A heart of flesh is a forgiving heart (Luke 23:34)
3. To have a healed heart you must let God change you (Galatians 5:22-23)
Apply
Do you find it difficult to give and receive love, or do you do so in a limited way? Do you find it hard to easily accept people or are you not very interested in understanding others? Are you cynical even when people are sincere? Are you stubborn and resentful at being corrected or challenged? These are all signs of having a hard heart. To receive the new, you have to let go of the old. You must recognise that your heart has become hard, being honest with yourself and with God. You must first admit that you have been hurt and that you have closed your heart, maybe even to the point that you won’t receive help. Many people act as if their hearts are fine when in reality they are far from fine. They always like to be in control and find it easier to give advice than to receive advice. They quickly become defensive and sometimes aggressive. They are quick to judge others but not themselves. Are you like this? If you want a healed heart you can’t continue like this. Just as it is necessary to repent for such sins as adultery or theft or murder, so you must repent from having a hard heart. A hard heart is a sin because it is the opposite of what God wants and creates a barrier between you and God, and you and others. You have to be truly sorry for how you have been and how you have affected people and really ask God for forgiveness. Repentance means confessing all those feelings of sadness, bitterness, guilt, hatred, revenge that have paralysed you. King David not only recognised his sin but he cried out to God for a change of heart (Psalm 51:10). David acknowledged that his sin was against God and that he deserved the consequences of his sin, but he cried out to be clean and asked the Lord for a new heart and a new spirit. Repentance is different from remorse which only makes you feel bad and sad. Repentance leads us to change from the old in order to receive the new.
Is your heart a tender heart, which is soft, kind, generous and forgiving? Does this show in all your words and actions? You need a wise head not a soft head, but your heart must always be tender. You have to be gentle with your wife/husband/children. You cannot be rough in your words or rude to people. Just as Jesus is gentle with us, so we must be gentle even when people oppose us. Gentleness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Kindness is blessing people with your words and actions even if you don’t think people deserve it. Kindness means looking for ways to help people up and not putting them down. When your heart has been softened you will not be selfish with your time and money. You will give what you can freely and generously. And the Bible tells us that we are to forgive as we are forgiven, just as Jesus did on the Cross (Luke 23:34). Forgiveness is the gateway to emotional freedom. Forgiveness is the key to receiving healing in your heart. Even if the other person does not deserve your forgiveness, if you forgive you will be set free from the past and see positive changes in your life. In the moment you forgive and stop focussing on all that has damaged you, you will feel your hard heart of stone changing to a heart of flesh. Remember that forgiveness is a decision, not just a feeling. But also, you need the help of God and that’s exactly what He wants to give you.
Do you want a powerful healing in your heart and for your heart to change? Are you ready to open up to God who loves you? Only God can really heal our hearts and He promises to do this in these verses (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Jesus came to this world to save us from our sins but also to bear our griefs and to carry our sorrows. Because of His death and resurrection, everything that would ruin our lives can be overcome. Just as the stone was removed from the grave of Jesus and He walked free from death and darkness, so the heavy stone of pain can be removed from your heart and life. The great worship singer Keith Green understood that only God can help us when we have a hard heart. In his famous song 'My Eyes Are Dry' he wrote these powerful words: "Oh, what can be done for an old heart like mine? Soften it up with oil and wine. The oil is You, Your Spirit of love. Please wash me anew in the wine of Your blood." The Holy Spirit was given so that we can know God as the great Comforter. When you open up to God, you can feel the warmth of His presence and love. And if you ask Him, He will do what you haven’t been able to and remove all negative feelings that you have been battling with.
