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)
This scripture means a lot to me because I was a hard-hearted person due to the abuse I had suffered in the earlier years of my life. This Bible verse gave me hope that I could change. God gives us things in seed form and we must work with the Holy Spirit to bring them to full maturity. This is much like the fruit of the Spirit, which is in us but needs to be watered with God’s Word and developed though use.
As believers in Jesus, we have tender hearts, but we can become hard-hearted if we are not careful in this area. I find that taking the time to really think about what people are going through in their particular situations helps me to have compassion. Jesus was moved by compassion, and we should be also. Moved to pray, or help in some way.
Empathy is a beautiful emotion and thankfully one we don’t have to resist!
Let’s learn to resist evil emotions that poison our lives and embrace those we can enjoy and that will bring glory to God. Emotions are a gift from God; in fact, they’re a large part of what makes us human. Without them, life would be dull, and we’d be like robots. Because emotions are a vulnerable part of us, Satan seeks to take advantage and make what God intended to be a good thing into an evil thing.
I like to try to imagine all the enjoyable emotions that Adam and Eve had in the garden prior to allowing sin to enter the world. I am sure it was wonderful indeed. But when they fell into sin, their emotions fell with them. Jesus has redeemed every part of us, including our emotions. It must have been wonderful to never experience guilt, fear, hatred, jealousy, or worry — to not even have to resist any of the ugly emotions we deal with today. But even though we have to resist those emotions, we can still be free from them through Jesus Christ.
God’s desire is that you enjoy the life He has provided for you, and that is impossible to do unless you learn how to control your feelings instead of letting them control you.
With God’s help, you can do it!
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