And I will give them one heart [a new heart] and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony [unnaturally hardened] heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh [sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God].
Ezekiel 11:19 AMPC
My dad pretty much taught himself to play the guitar. He went to Walmart, bought himself a chord chart poster, and hung it on the wall. He would practice hours on end.
Day after day, week after week, he would practice chords and simple songs we were singing in worship. Anyone who plays the guitar knows what that means for your hands. It means you get these lovely little things called callouses.
A callous is a hard, thickened area of the skin that develops from friction or irritation over time. My husband developed these on his fingertips. He even lost feeling where the callouses developed because the skin was so hard. If he wanted to remove them, he would have to soak his fingertips first to soften the skin.
Speaking emotionally, calloused means to be insensitive of others and have cruel disregard for others.
Ezekiel was writing this to people who had calloused hearts towards God. They were living lives of sin. There was no desire in them to serve Him. He called to them through prophet after prophet to turn back to Him so He could spare them from going into captivity, but their hearts were so calloused and insensitive they refused to listen.
I’ve honestly had a hard heart at times towards God in some areas, haven’t you? Maybe He was dealing with you to cut something out that you really liked even though it was holding you back from what He wanted for you. Maybe He was asking you to forgive someone who hurt you, but you were holding on to the hurt.
We can have calloused hearts in different areas of our lives. Sin hardens the heart. Disobedience hardens the heart. Unforgiveness and bitterness and anger give us callouses. Ignoring the whisper of the Spirit to do or avoid things can harden our hearts.
I pray this daily for myself, for my spouse, for my kids, for my parents, for our church family. And we’re going to pray it together today.
Let’s pray together.
Father, give Your Church in the city of Warren a heart of flesh that is sensitive and responsive to Your touch. Give them a tender heart towards You so they can hear what You’re saying to them and respond. We pray if there are any callouses at all that You would reveal them so they can soak that area in Your presence and remove any hardness that may be hindering them from fully surrendering to You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.