Dealing With Heart Issues

Removing the Stones to Make More Room for Jesus

One of the first things the Holy Spirit does when He comes into the life of a new believer is to deal with the heart.

The condition of our heart determines so much about our lives.  It determines the course, the flow, and the ultimate destination of our life.

You can listen to my podcast episode on this topic here:

Proverbs 4:23 puts it this way, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the issues (or springs) of life.”  

Those “springs” flow out to all the other areas of our life, but they originate from the heart.

When Jesus comes into a heart He begins to work immediately.

And it’s such important work, a work only He can do. But at the same time, it’s work He will only complete when he has our full consent and permission.

Some believe our hearts are good.  I’m sure you’ve heard people say of themselves or others that they have a “good” heart, they’ve just made some bad decisions or mistakes.  

Others believe the human heart is evil to the core, that there’s no redeeming quality to the heart of man.

I believe Jeremiah when he says,

“The heart is deceitful above all things

and desperately wicked;

who can know  it?”

(Jeremiah 17:9)

And David when he says,

“My flesh and my heart may fail 

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever”

(Psalm 73:26)

Because I believe Jeremiah and David, I also believe in the promise God gives His people  through Ezekiel when He says:

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”  (Ezekiel 11:19)

One of the consequences of our fallen nature and our separation from God is that our hearts are evil, like stone, deceptive. Without the Holy Spirit’s help, we can’t desire the things of God. We crave whatever we think will make us happy.  

We’d like to think our hearts are mostly good. But like Jeremiah said, “Who can know it?”  Our hearts will even deceive us!

When the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts He shines His light and its true condition is revealed. Thankfully, we also receive a desire to change and be more like Christ. His desire is to change our hard heart and replace it with His heart of flesh, a soft, malleable heart that’s sensitive to the things of God.  We desperately need this heart transplant. 

When I first became a Christian,  I was very aware of the rotten condition of my heart.  I had known for a long time that the things I desired were not “good” or healthy or godly. 

But somehow hearing that every human heart without Jesus suffers from the same wicked condition as mine helped.  I didn’t feel like I was the only one with a wicked heart.  Yes, I still had to deal with the issues in my heart to move on in my walk with Jesus, but just knowing He wasn’t shocked or disappointed in me and that others, everyone else, struggled with this same heart disease I struggled with brought me comfort.  (I know this sounds awful, but it’s true.  Just bearing my soul to you here.)

And then, in His grace, God shows us the solution.  Jesus.  When Jesus came into my heart, He brought hope.  Because He was now in my heart, He could work on me from the inside out.

I remember where I was sitting the first time I read Psalm 73:6, the exact spot.  “My flesh and my heart, they fail.  But God is my strength and my portion forever.”  So much truth in that tiny verse:

• He’s in there, right in my heart. I’m not alone anymore.
• No there’s nothing good in my heart, except Him.  But He’s all I need.
• He knows my heart’s true condition, and still loves me.  
• He knows I’m going to fail, again and again, and he’s not ashamed or disappointed in me. He will forgive me every time I fall.
• He’s going to help me.  He will be my strength when my heart is weak. I can lean on His strength.  My weakness doesn’t matter.
• This is forever. He’s never going to leave me or give up on me.

I can’t explain to you the comfort and faith that surged in my heart, and still surges today, when I read Psalm 73:6.  I don’t mind looking into my sinful heart and acknowledging I have issues when the only one Whose judgment matters has promised to help me and change me from the inside out.  What wonderful promises we have in Him!

So, how do we work with Him to replace our stony hearts with His tender heart?  

Let me start by saying it’s not easy.  It hurts.  It’s painful. And it’s a long process that will last the rest of your life.  Does that sound discouraging?  Don’t be discouraged because it means little by little for the rest of your life you will be changed more and more into the image of Christ.  And that’s part of the glorious adventure of walking with Him.  There are many obstacles and tests, but just as many successes and victories.  

It takes time. There are many stones that must be removed in order to allow His work to continue unhindered in our hearts. If He did all the work at once we couldn’t handle it.  He’s been healing and rebuilding hearts a lot longer than we’ve been alive so it’s wise to listen, obey and submit to the work of the Holy Spirit.  

None of us are alike.  We all have our own stories and personalities.  He has an individual plan for each of us.  But there are a few areas where He always seems to deal with first.

Here are 3 big heart stones that have to be dealt with so God can give us His tender heart of love:

Idols  

We are made to worship God but if we don’t worship Him, we will still worship something.  It’s the way we are designed, looking to something outside of ourselves for purpose and fulfillment.  Outside of Christ, we will make an idol of anything: Money, a life partner, approval of others, sex, work, education, our families, anything!  The list goes on forever.  

When Christ comes into a person’s life, he comes to take the throne of their heart, the highest position.  He will not take second place. When we become a believer, the Holy Spirit puts His finger on the idols in our hearts that we have been worshiping in His place.  And they must go.  

But we love those things.  We’ve worshiped them for a long time.  It hurts when He starts to rip them out of our hearts.  But it’s necessary.  It’s the only way.  As the Lord shines his light into the dark areas of your heart where idols are hiding, obey Him and kick the idols out.  Remove them from your heart, by His strength, and put Him in their place.  Don’t let anything stand between you and Jesus.  Don’t make Him compete for your attention, affection, or obedience.  He loves you so much.  He purchased you with His own blood. Give your whole heart to Him, undivided.

Past Hurts 

All of us have experienced a broken heart. Things that have happened to us in the past can leave wounds and scars that only Jesus can heal.  Jesus is the Great Physician.  He wants the heal the hurts that have maimed and crippled His children from becoming who He created them to be. 

He cares about every rejection, every betrayal, every disappointment your heart has endured.  He wants to put your broken heart back together, but He can’t unless you trust Him and give Him all the pieces.  

When God starts touching these old wounds, they hurt all over again.  We spend years hiding and denying they exist.  So it’s normal to resist giving Jesus access to them.  But I’ve found the only way to get out of the hurt, is to let Jesus walk me back through those doors of hurt I’ve come through.  The difference is this time I’m not walking through them alone, but with Him, and He heals my heart, mind, and memories as no one else can.  It hurts, it can be scary and painful.  But the freedom it brings is worth it all.

Unforgiveness 

Past hurts bring many opportunities for unforgiveness to enter our hearts.  I think of unforgiveness as a protective layer we place over my own heart after every betrayal and rejection.  In my attempt to keep my heart from being hurt again, I unintentionally put it into a prison of unforgiveness.  Instead of protecting it, I keep Jesus out and keep myself trapped inside with the hurt.  The very things I’m trying to protect myself with I’m imprisoning myself with.  

Unforgiveness causes you to relive those past hurts over and over again. Forgiving those who have hurt you is the key that will set your heart free and allow Jesus’s healing power into your heart.  

As Christ has forgiven us, He requires we forgive those who have hurt us.  If we ignore this kingdom principle we harm our own selves.  As we forgive others who have hurt us, we are setting ourselves free and receiving healing from Heaven.  We are moving on with our lives, and refusing to be defined by our past.

I have heard people say that telling people who have been hurt they must forgive those who have hurt them is a cruel form of gaslighting.   These are not my words, but Jesus’ words:

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”   

-Matthew 6:14

Forgive everyone who has hurt you, everyone.  Move that stone out of the way so Jesus can melt your stony heart with His love and you can love again. Break out of that prison.  Move on with your life. That’s not where you were created to live.  You will be so glad you did.

Jesus is jealous for your heart.  He wants to take out your heart of stone and replace it with a tender heart that loves well.  He wants to give you a healthy, strong, and loving heart.  Please allow Him to have His way in your heart today so you can move another step closer to living the blessed life He has planned for you. 

© Audrey McCracken, 2022

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