Aligned!

Aligned!

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 KJV

Context:

Ezekiel speaks here of a message that God spoke to him about concerning Israel, the people chosen by God. One theme that runs through the entire passage is the effect and consequences of sin. It does not matter what you may have heard, or what you may have convinced yourself about: God punishes sin, no matter in whom it is found. God has no favourites and does not show partiality when the issue of sin is concerned. Whatever he calls sin deserves my attention and hatred, if I will truly experience all that God is. 

The people of Israel were in exile in other nations. They were there because they had rebelled against God and rejected his ways. Even as they went among these other nations, God says that they brought shame and disgrace to his name. If I read the earlier verses before today's extract, it is hard to see the basis of joy, but in the midst of all the bad news, I read today's extract and my heart rejoices. 

Message and Response:

The first reason for joy is that it is God who is initiating the process of restoration. There was nothing Israel could offer as a reason for God's intervention, but God considered his name and acted. If God were to mark iniquity, which of us can stand before him but by virtue of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have freedom from sin, a new lease of life down here and eternal life with God. God did not wait for us to be worthy of all these; he simply made us worthy all by himself. 

The second reason for joy is that he is the only one who can make beautiful poetry out of broken strings. He can take the rot, pain and pressure and turn them all into his own pleasure. He can take that heart which the devil can manipulate and turn it into a useful vessel that he can use. He can take the old and make it new, as I become a new creation when I surrender my life to God. Same external container, but a whole complete new package inside. 

The third reason for joy is that the new work done on my inside cannot be kept inside no matter how hard I try. The new work done in me will always shine out. It is a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. A new heart means new pursuits and priorities. A new heart means a different focus, with new friends and standards. I can no longer hold on to the old, because its senses and desires go against the new nature in me. Can I say, of a truth, that this new nature is already my experience?

The fourth reason for joy is because God does not need my help to change my life; He just needs my surrender. He can't take the stony heart out if I am still opinionated and strong-willed. If I think I know better than him, he will wait until I have exhausted my options. If I think I have my life all planned and figured out, he will wait until I reach my wits end, or I reach out for his help. Either way, he is always there; his spirit ready to take over if I will let him. He can operate on me without killing me; the end of his work in me is a life that is fit for eternity. What could be more important? 

The fifth reason for joy is that none of the above needs the validation, opinion or approval of men for God to get it done. We seek man's approval for everything, thinking that if they like us, God must really like us. Actually, God is the only one who truly loves us; man's love is usually transactional, and he will stick to us as long as there is something to gain. It is God's love that does not depend on me to be true. His love is not like man's; but this is the clincher: it does not last forever for me, on this side of eternity. His love is eternal, because that is his nature, But I do not get to enjoy eternal life with him if I reject his love. 

God wants to do a work in me that only he can do. There has to be that operation: the cutting off of the heart of stone. God cannot work with it; it is of the old nature that has to go, if God is to be able to make use of that life. God will not just deal with the heart of stone, but he will replace it with a heart of flesh, one that is easily influenced by his touch, and receptive to his voice and Spirit. It is a heart of flesh, not one alien to, but aligned with the host. God will not do a work in me that will destroy me, but one that will make me a reflection of his power, grace and mercy. It is a work that I must embrace, and a work that must be done if God is to be glorified in and through me. Can I say that God has done this work in me? Am I now a reflection of his work? While I am alive, I have the opportunity to make changes. A time comes when there can be no more work done in me, and all that is left will be the basis of eternal judgement. May I not have any regrets by rejecting the work that God wants to do in me. May I surrender my life to him totally, so I can be all that he wants me to be. His time of favour is here.