Ezekiel 36:26-27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you…”
I ran across this scripture the other day and reflected on how much my heart has softened over the years. In essence we are born with the heart of God and our behaviors and actions either support and grow God’s heart He has given us or it hardens it. Sometimes the behaviors and actions of others develop a hardened heart in us at a very young age. Addictions and co-dependenices also serve as heart-hardeners as do resentments, greed, grudges, grief (when not dealt with in a positive way), self-pity, and any desire that is not of the Lord.
As I reflect on my life I see a young person with a very tender and caring heart, who through my addiction to drugs and “things” developed a very hard heart. The cool thing about recovery, especially recovery that is now over 24 years in the making, is I can tell others how it feels to transform a hardened heart back into a soft heart…the heart God gave me when I was born. It feels so good that I want to do everything I can to never go back. Today I have a regimen of heart softeners:
- Morning prayer and devotion…every morning (let God in and leave Jay out)
- A consistent routine of helping others (let God in and leave Jay out)
- Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts (let God in and leave Jay out)
- Hang out with others whom have soft hearts or desire to have a soft heart (let God in and leave Jay out)
- Read positive uplifting books (let God in and leave Jay out)
- In my early years I needed counseling and many 12 Step meetings  (allowing someone else to open the door for me to let God in and leave me out).
- Seeking a conscious contact with God, i.e. dwelling on God and what He would do instead of Jay and what he would do (letting God in 24/7…leaving Jay out).
This heart softening process is not rocket science, but it does take work and usually the longer you’ve spent growing a hardened heart the longer it will take you to soften it. But the rewards are plentiful…remember I’ve lived on both sides of the “heart tracks.”
The reward? Glad you asked. Galatians chapter 5 is a great synopsis of hard and soft hearts. I remember the first time I read Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” I thought ‘man I would love to have that someday’ and today, more times than not I do…as long as I am doing what I need to keep my heart soft (letting God in and leaving Jay out).
…simply a process of elimination
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay, you are truly a warrior of God. I am a better person for knowing you…and, of course Him. I love this site and the message I read today. It’s the right message at the right time for me. I use to sing all the time and since I sobered up….I could find no drive or desire to sing. Now I am helping to lead vocal worchip in the choir at church and it feels so good. You are one of the reasons that I kept coming back to Next Step and I want to thank you.
Take care and God bless you always,
Chris Burns
Hey Chris I’m so glad you kept coming back and it is always a delight to see you up on that stage singing…even though you are a Bethel Bee 🙂