About 8 or 9 years ago I was in therapy weekly to address the damage the abuse had done to me. At this time I was reading in Ezekiel where I am now reading again today. Ezekiel 11:19 talks about God replacing the heart of stone with a heart of flesh. The Children of Israel had hardened their hearts to God and God is showing Ezekiel that He will address this hardened heart with these people.

When I came upon this verse several years ago I recall wondering what a “heart of flesh” was like? I had always seen a clean heart as one which was glossy like a stainless steel bucket is glossy when it is sterilized. We would do this with the milking equipment when I was growing up on the farm. Today, as I read this I’m beginning to grasp much deeper understanding of this concept of a heart of flesh. In the biblical times God provided the children of Israel with leadership with whom He spoke and gave clear directions. The Israelites became callous to these leaders wanting to do things their own way–thus hardening their hearts towards God’s message/s. When Christ came as God’s great Gift to be our sacrifice for sin, we were given The Holy Spirit to live within us as we accepted Christ into our lives. The messages of The Holy Spirit within us is the same as the messages of the leaders in biblical times. The difference is now the Leader is within us. We each get to choose to obey this voice or not.

Joyce Meyer tells about her own journey of abuse and her own hardened heart which The Holy Spirit had to help her address. When we accept Christ into our lives we are made to be a new creation. This new creation does have a new heart–a heart of flesh. However, this new heart can’t function as new unless we begin to listen and obey the voice of this Holy Spirit within. I really do want to take heed to this message. Being a new creation doesn’t need to be a mystery. The direction book is right within me. Listening to His message and obeying it is always the right thing to do.