Raw and Real

Wandering, lost, and alone. How long have I been like this? My sins are against me, sapping my strength. Bones wasting away, I groan in agony. Those I had trusted in betrayed and enslaved me—quite honestly, my own evil heart enslaved me. This heart is as hard as stone, my transgressions heavy from the time of my birth.

Have mercy, God. Wash away my sins! Your love is great, your mercies are endless! I confess my evil ways, my tendency to roam, my search for meaning and satisfaction in everything that is not You.

What will I, this stubborn sheep who has strayed so far, offer my Shepherd? I know He will not turn me away when I come to Him—He will not despise a heart full of brokenness and sorrow for my sins. Create in me a heart of purity, my God! Make my heart steadfast; cover me with Your forgiveness. Remove my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh!

My Shepherd turns to me with love in His eyes, arms open wide. I hear Him whisper to my soul, “I will gather you back…I will cleanse you from everything impure…I will give you a new heart, a new spirit…I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Are you willing to lay down your idols?â€

I contemplate the things I once thought would fill me, those pseudo-gods. My soul aches with emptiness and longing, and I know—I know. “Will it hurt?†My voice is barely a whisper. Sorrow shines in His eyes. “Yes. But I already endured the deepest pain for you.†It is then that I notice the nail scars in His hands.

I nod, and He reaches deep. His hand finds my lifeless heart—a cold mess of hardened tissue, muscle, and valve. I gasp as He removes this mass of stone from my chest. I watch as the Shepherd covers my heart of stone with His nail-scarred hands. He breathes on those hands, my heart inside. Then, I hear it, the unbelievably sweet sound of a heart beating, deep and even. He opens His hands and therein lies a new heart—a heart of flesh. • Savannah Coleman

• Ezekiel prophesied that God would save His people through Jesus—He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for us, His sheep (John 10:11). What do you think it means that God will remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh?

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.†Ezekiel 11:19 (NIV)

Read Verses:

1Sam.1.1-1Sam.1.20|Ps.88|Ps.62.8