"A new heart I [the Lord God] will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, . . ." Ezekiel 36: 26-27a
In this Old Testament book, we have the priest and prophet, Ezekiel, outlining what the Lord directed him to tell the Israelite nation. Their hearts that were like stone would be turned into hearts of flesh. In Ezekiel 37 we have the story of the "Valley of Dry Bones" and how God puts a new life into something that was dry and dead. This is an excellent story for those who want to engage in spiritual practices, for it gives us all hope about what can come from it, a new heart and new spirit.
However, some of us may feel like obtaining a new heart and spirit is an extremely difficult thing to do, depending what is going on in our lives. One such time for me was when my late wife, Judy, died in late January 1999. After her funeral and all of the related activity calmed down, I can remember how depressed, lonely, and sad I was. Up until her death, I had been busily caring for her at home, and then life suddenly slowed down. During that time of the year the days were short and having to be alone during those winter evenings was especially challenging for me. There were many stressful moments for me then. It took a long time, but spring did come, and by July my energy level did begin to improve. My heart and spirit were renewed over time.
Think about reflecting on these chapters from Ezekiel as an example of how we can also be reborn. Being on our spiritual pilgrimage is not always a bed of roses, but we can be daily given a new heart and spirit when we are open to God’s love, grace, and mercy. Blessings on your spiritual travels! Vernon T.
Copyright © 2023 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved
In this Old Testament book, we have the priest and prophet, Ezekiel, outlining what the Lord directed him to tell the Israelite nation. Their hearts that were like stone would be turned into hearts of flesh. In Ezekiel 37 we have the story of the "Valley of Dry Bones" and how God puts a new life into something that was dry and dead. This is an excellent story for those who want to engage in spiritual practices, for it gives us all hope about what can come from it, a new heart and new spirit.
However, some of us may feel like obtaining a new heart and spirit is an extremely difficult thing to do, depending what is going on in our lives. One such time for me was when my late wife, Judy, died in late January 1999. After her funeral and all of the related activity calmed down, I can remember how depressed, lonely, and sad I was. Up until her death, I had been busily caring for her at home, and then life suddenly slowed down. During that time of the year the days were short and having to be alone during those winter evenings was especially challenging for me. There were many stressful moments for me then. It took a long time, but spring did come, and by July my energy level did begin to improve. My heart and spirit were renewed over time.
Think about reflecting on these chapters from Ezekiel as an example of how we can also be reborn. Being on our spiritual pilgrimage is not always a bed of roses, but we can be daily given a new heart and spirit when we are open to God’s love, grace, and mercy. Blessings on your spiritual travels! Vernon T.
Copyright © 2023 Vernon T. Jones, All Rights Reserved
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