We got up at 3:45 this morning. Right now we’re sitting in the surgery waiting room at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas. My father-in-law is having heart-valve replacement and by-pass right now. In other words, his heart is getting a major overhaul.
We’ve been telling him that he is going to feel like a new man when this is over. He has struggled for a long time enduring angina, shortness of breath, and heart failure. His quality of life was severely limited by his worn-out heart. Something drastic needed to be done.
God uses the heart to illustrate a wonderful spiritual truth. The word “heart” in Scripture refers to our intellect, emotions, and passions. The core of who we are. Before we’re saved – before we enter into a relationship with Jesus – we have a “heart of stone.” Our spiritual hearts are cold, hard, and rebellious, unable to respond to God.
But when God saves us – when He gives us new spiritual life – He also gives us new hearts. He removes our dead, unresponsive hearts and replaces them with a “heart of flesh.” This new heart is soft and pliable in God’s hands.
When today’s surgery is over, Wayne’s dad will essentially have a “new” heart – completely overhauled. His life will be drastically different. Has your spiritual heart been overhauled? Has God replaced your heart of stone with a heart of flesh? Is it time for a little surgery?
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
I think he works on my heart daily – sometimes ‘plaque’ gets on there and He gently removes it…
kathy this is a great analogy. When I was in my twenty’s my heart stopped beating after having eight seizures. you don’t realize how important your heart is until it stops.In the same way we don’t realize the negative things in our heart until God shines his light on it.I died but God in his mercy brought me back to life.thank you gor this story. Keep writing.
Thanks for sharing this testimony with us!
Where does the Bible speak of this spiritual heart? Thank you.
Good question Joyce! Both the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied about the coming New Covenant as God writing His law on the people’s hearts (Jeremiah 31:33-34). Ezekiel goes further saying that God will remove our hearts of stone and replace them with a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:24-27) Paul also talks about a “circumcision of the heart” to refer to the spiritual change God makes in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 2:28-29) Without God our hearts are cold and unresponsive to Him. But when the Holy Spirit enters are life, He softens it towards God giving us a desire to follow Him.