New Day, New Year, and New Beginnings - 31 Days of Fresh StartsSample

A New Heart...

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26 NKJV

We find our opening verse smack dab in the middle of God’s promises to Israel for their renewal and restoration. Yet leading up to these verses, in Ezekiel, the Lord deals directly with their sin, stuff, and unfaithfulness (Ezekiel 15:8). I mean, really. It’s not good.

Yet God is always relentlessly pursuing and wooing His wayward children. We spoke yesterday of those things that oppose us when we seek a new path, no matter what. Yet, when we ponder who or what our greatest challenges are, we may find that we ourselves are included on that list. And the problem is, we may want a new direction, vocation, or location, but wherever we would go, we take ourselves with us!

Like Israel of old, we can blame others or situations that are out of our control for why we now want to make a break from an old pattern and walk into something new. But honestly, we must always circle back to ourselves. Ultimately, the buck always stops here.

Through no choice of my own, I once was given a new job assignment that I detested, to put it mildly. In my new position, staff morale was low, uncooperative, and negative. I was not suited for or well-trained for my new duties. I had just been diagnosed with terminal incurable cancer. For crying out loud—my commute was longer! Still, the Holy Spirit spoke, just as He spoke to Israel. I will give you a new heart and spirit if you surrender and believe Me. I wanted a new job. God wanted a new me.

Our opening verse speaks of the future day of Jesus and Pentecost’s power. We live in that day now. I received that truth and lived in genuine joy and contentment with where I was. I did, I really did. And without seeking a new position, it wasn’t long before He opened up a new dream job for me.