A Softened Heart

And I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh.  Ezekiel 11:19

God says He will replace the stony hearts in His people with new hearts that are sensitive to His touch.  When we give our lives to God, He puts a sense of right and wrong deep within our consciences.  But if we rebel against our consciences too many times, we can become hard-hearted.  If that happens, we need to let God soften our hearts so we can be spiritually sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

I was very hard-hearted before I really began fellowshipping with God.  Being in His presence regularly developed the new heart in me--the new heart that Jesus died to give me.  Without a heart sensitive to God's touch, we will not recognize many of the times He is speaking to us.  He speaks gently, in a still, small voice, or with gentle conviction about a matter.

Those who are hard-hearted and busy "doing their own thing", will not be sensitive to God's voice.  I am grateful that He has softened my heart with His Word, because a hardened heart cannot recieve the blessings He wants to give.