The Promised New Heart

Sharon had been a Christian leader for over twenty years, and yet her heart was not satisfied. She wondered, Where is the overflow of joy and the power to be victorious that God promises? She longed to be more effective in her service.

She began seeking to be fully satisfied and to know God in a deeper way. One morning while Sharon was praying, she trusted the Lord to fill her with His fullness. Sharon knew the Holy Spirit came in to abide. She sensed an unfathomable rest in her spirit.

One day as we sat at my kitchen table, Sharon reminisced about her earlier attempts to be used of God. "There was a self-will within that was sabotaging everything I tried to do. I could not control it. I had tried to live a surrendered life all those years, but it fell short of the blessing. Self sabotaged everything constructive I tried to do for God. I wanted to do God's will, but there was a civil war going on inside. Since the Holy Spirit cleansed me, the desire to obey Him is as natural as breathing."

Sharon had experienced the change of heart God promised in Ezekiel when He said, "I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command" (36:26 NLT).

Thank You, Father, for the miracle of the new heart that has right desires.  

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God" (Ezekiel 11:19, 20).