A Heart of Stone
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. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:26-27
In Ezekiel 36:26-27, the Lord is speaking to the nation of Israel whose heart had grown cold toward Him and what He represents. As I read His Words; I feel the Lord’s love and compassion for His people. It’s like He’s telling them, “You don’t have to stay hard-hearted towards Me. I will cleanse you from whatever sins that caused you to turn away from Me. I will remove the heart of stone and give you a new one. A heart filled with My Spirit that will move you to follow what My Word teaches and be careful to do what it says.
God loves His children and longs to have a relationship with them. He understands the anguish of mothers and fathers whom are broken-hearted from not having a relationship with their children. Years have passed with no contract, and they’ve lost all hope of reconciliation. Their sons and daughters have a heart of stone towards their family. God is the only One able to soften the heart of stone so reconciliation can be possible. He is the only One able to melt what resembles a block of ice that surrounds the hearts of these children.
One family in particular had a heated argument with their son over 30 years ago. He’s remained angry and has not contacted them since, yet lives in the same neighborhood. They are elderly now and their greatest desire to be reconciled with him before they die. They’ve never stopped loving their son, and have forgiven him of the words and actions that were said and done by him all those years ago. They pray also that he will forgive them for their part in what caused the argument to escalate as it did. If he were to suddenly show up at their door, he would be welcomed with open arms and embraced in a huge hug.
He is their first-born child, and a day seldom passes by that they don’t think about him. He brought great delight into their lives as a child, into his teens, and later into adulthood. They are very proud of him and his achievements in life. They would love the opportunity to spend their remaining years with their son in their lives, wanting to be part of the family again. They can’t regain the years the enemy has stolen by robbing them of their relationship with their son. What they can do, is hold on to the promise that God can restore their family, and grant them time and years to rebuild what was broken and make it new again. Through God, all things are possible.
Satan is very cunning and will do his best to keep this family apart. He does not want reconciliation to occur. If allowed, he will continue to whisper lies in the son’s heart and mind that was occurred over 30 years ago is unforgivable. That he was justified in saying and doing what he did; that it was his parent’s fault that he got angry in the first place.
Satan will continue to work on the parent’s minds and hearts too, by reminding them of the mistakes made while bringing up their son, that they could have been better parents. He will discourage them from hoping that reconciliation is even possible.
God is the total opposite. Family relationships are important to Him. If not, why did He include: “Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” as the fifth of the Ten Commandments?
What the Bible says about God is true, and He will do what His Word says. God did say, “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” God sees all, nothing escapes Him. He knows what it will take to bring restoration back to a family. He knows what it will take to melt the ice away from a heart, that’s hard as a block of ice.
Love and forgiveness are unbeatable forces, powerful weapons that will defeat Satan every time. I pray that love and forgiveness become the motivating factor in the lives of children who have been estranged from their parents. God will cause good memories and times to surface that will overshadow the ones that caused the estrangement. That a longing will burn in their hearts and minds to be reunited with their parents. Suddenly time is of the essence, contact must be made very soon, possibly that very day.
God will remove a heart of stone, and replace it with a heart of flesh. He will do what His Word says. His Word goes where He sends it and succeeds in what He intends it to do. We’re to never lose hope and never give up while waiting on the Lord. His timing is always perfect!
Anne-Marie Madore is the author of God Said, “I WILL” Promise Book. She writes a weekly post on her God-Inspired Blog found on anne-mariemadore.ca.
