The Stony Heart
Ezekiel 36:26 “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 a heart of flesh.”
A couple of weekends ago, I came upon this stone work and it spoke to me. No, not a “talking rock”. But the stone had a message. If you look closely, you can see that it resembles a heart shape. Sort of. Can you see it? Well, I did. I pointed it out to mother. I said, now there is a “devotional blog” if I ever saw one! She agreed. Little did I know that in just a few days, I would come upon a heart of stone. In a live person.
It is easy to diagnose. The person with the heart of stone. However, when they are in your life, you can diagnose all you want….it doesn’t change anything. Their need for the Surgeon is evident by their actions, attitude and many times, their lifestyle. Their desire for change? Most likely it is non-existent.
The pain inflicted by someone with such a heart spreads far and wide…and you should be careful, approach with extreme caution. Stony Heart Syndrome can be contagious. You think I’m kidding? It truly can! Okay, take for instance the disgruntled employee. Serving up a dish of contention with a round of strife in the mix. Or, the unsatisfied spouse. The one that thinks that “life” is better outside the boundary of the marriage bed. They are looking for someone to satisfy all their needs….but to the wrong one. There is Someone that can satisfy absolutely every need in their life….but the heart of stone is heavy. Too heavy to do much “seeking” for the good. That is an uphill journey. It is far easier to go the way of the crowd. In the “wide path”. The “narrow path” is treacherous at times. You can’t maneuver a stony heart in narrow winding paths.
Another example—the rebellious teenager. With their cool —hip ways—their extensive knowledge of the world. They really have no need of “school room education”—why, they know it all anyway, so why waste time in school! Life is much more exciting out in the world. You think? Well, if you asked my oldest child, she would tell you that a heart of stone gets virtually impossible to lug around in the world, while running from the Way that is right. And try as you might, you cannot make it lighter. No, as a matter of fact, the more you go in the opposite direction from the Truth, that heart just gets heavier.
One more example. The casual Christian. You may ask, is there such a thing? Well, I think so. The individual may have started out right, but as the stony or rocky ground where the seed was planted, was left unattended, meaning, they never cultivated their life to ensure proper growth, the illness of the Stony Heart Syndrome became noticable. They never watered it with the Word, they never felt the warmth of the Holy Spirit, and they declined the fellowshipping with like minded believers so that they could “grow” deeper and stronger in their faith. Perfect conditions for a heart to become hard. Stony.
But a heart of stone does not have to remain so. It can become a pliant heart of flesh! Through the healing power and the forgiving ointment of the blood of Jesus Christ, and by confession to Him that we realize that we have allowed our lives to become hardened—we are changed–the Softening Agent has been added. Admit to Him that we desire to grow in Truth and Grace. Tell Him all the things—(all the time)—that trouble us, so that the enemy of our lives does not have a chance to put the hardening agent into our hearts.
God can take a heart of stone and transform it into a heart firmly fixed and resolved for Him. He will put a new spirit within them, and that new spirit, will be quite different from what it was; they will act with new principles, walk by new rules, and their goal in life will be dramatically changed. A new name, or a new face, will not do us any good without a new spirit.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Father in heaven, as I have so many times prayed before, create in me a clean heart. A heart that thirsts for You and is filled by You. Keep me pliant. Ever before You, in worship, praise and seeking a deeper relationship with you. Help the roots of faith, and trust grow deep. Make me a light—to lead others to You. In Your most holy name I pray~Amen.
I believe a stony heart is behind many a divorce these days. When the disciples were asking Jesus about divorce, he replied “because of your hard hearts”. I don’t know what the statistics are but I’d say they indicate many suffering from Stony Heart Syndrome. (I like the way you named it.)
I have to agree with Denise – I like the the term “Stony Heart Syndrome” 🙂
It is so true though – I encounter many people that have stony hearts. It is so sad…Yes, He can change our attitude and make us new. I pray that I will never suffer from the Stony Heart Syndrome.
Thank you for sharing…
Blessings to you and yours 🙂
PS: My spam word is “Hope” 😛
Angie:
It’s hard to confess, but there have been seasons in my life that have boasted a stoney heart. Seasons when I have chosen to turn away from God and his best plan for my life. Seasons when I have lashed out at others because of my stoney heart. It’s a bitter place of existence.
Thankfully, my Father has loved me back to softness. I ask him for more love to be in me, so that it can spill forth onto others. A loving heart has been the catalyst that God has used to break my heart of stone, and I want him to use that love in me to do the same for others.
Be blessed this day, and thank you so much for sharing.
peace~elaine
Angie,
This is wonderful. I love your prayer and it is my prayer today as well. Oh, Lord keep my heart, mind and soul focused on You. Amen
Bless you for sharing this, I see your light shining brightly.
Angie, great post. May we all keep our hearts soft and pliable till He comes, or we go. Thank you for sharin this thought. Loved the picture.
Thank you for this devotion. This is my life. God created me with a loving kind heart. Over years of being married to a man that had a heart of stone, and went outside of the marriage bed searching to find something to make him happy, I developed a heart of stone. Through many trials God allowed that small spark left in my heart to ignite. That ignition let to my younger children to be grounded and rooted in the word and brought my husband to know the Lord. He is still working on my stony heart as well as my husbands. I thank God for his mercy and grace as well as his love for me.
I have this big soft heart and I take everyone at their word…… and I have no understanding of a hard heart…… I was so deep in sin when the Lord saved me and had suffered at the hands of some abusive husbands….. when I was born again I asked my new Father to help me keep a soft and pliable heart…..He did so…… so I am so careful when I come upon a hard heart……… and my gift to them is laughter…… in hopes that it will soften them up a bit…laughter is good medicine…… He so loves a tender heart..
Great post. How easy it is to let your heart become stony. The Lord is breaking mine up these days, praise His Name!
(Please enter me.)
“A new name, or a new face, will not do us any good without a new spirit. ”
I love this post Angie. You quoted one of my favorite verses also. It’s so easy when life gets difficult to develope a stony heart, but like you I pray daily that God will keep my own soft and pliable.
I see the heart. And I know stony hearts too. Thank you for this great post. And your prayer.
Thanks for sharing your soft heart for our Lord,
Tiffany
Beautifully said Angie. I want my heart to be a place where He is at home; and I want it to be soft and “shapeable”.