Day 28
Tuesday, April 1st
I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
(Ezekiel 36:26)
When I began writing this Lent journey, I spent some time alone with God, asking Him to show me what I knew, not only in my head, but in my heart. I could have chosen some topics and written surface-level truths about them, but words like that lack conviction, don’t they? God was calling me to more than that. He was calling me to go deeper, to look at the parts of my hard and stubborn heart that He has chipped away, leaving something softer behind.
A friend once told me that the 18 inches between your head and your heart make all the difference. The last thing we need as Christians is more head-knowledge, more information that doesn’t lead to transformation. The unbelieving world doesn’t need to hear more words, it needs to witness changed hearts.
If you’re anything like me, those 18 inches between my head and my heart might as well be 18 million miles. I resist letting God point to things in my heart that are causing problems in my life and my relationships. I don’t want to look inward because I know the things that are lurking there and I’d rather not face them, thank you very much. Maybe you feel the same way.
The process of letting God move His truths from our heads to our hearts involves looking in the mirror. It takes courage to be honest about who we have been in the past and who we are now, complete with all of our shortcomings. Coming to God honestly allows Him to do His deep, transformational, restorative work inside us. Coming to God honestly is the only path to a transformed heart.
The unbelieving world doesn’t need to hear more words. It needs to witness changed hearts. Come to God today. With His comforting presence at your side, be willing to look in the mirror with honesty and courage.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1: 9 NIV)
Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you.
(Acts 3:19 MSG)