Building for Earthquakes

A building that is made to (try and) withstand earthquakes is not build with rigid stability, but rather flexible design; structurally soft if you will, not iron clad. I was reminded of that today during prayer as I read this passage:

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26 (ESV)

You can call it a struggle, or you can call it a blessing, but stress often triggers heart palpitations for me. A struggle in the obvious ways that it gets scary or distracting (more distracting lately as I’ve been dealing with them for years so most of the scare is gone), but a blessing in a way that it most definitely is a sign to me that I am struggling with something, or not dealing with something properly. However after this passage (once I’ve read many times) it’s clear to me that I most definitely still have a heart of stone in many respects. Something major, or even something simple can trigger my internal earthquakes. The more I’m connected to Him, the softer my heart is and the better I deal with my internal earthquakes. However the more life seems to get me derailed (business, life issues, etc.) the more I try to do things on my own and my heart starts hardening up again. Then even the little tremors can set off some fractures in my heart.

Yet … 

When I see I’ve made some wrong turns, and find my way back to Him, that heart of flesh is there waiting for me. My life didn’t suddenly become less busy, my issues didn’t suddenly disappear … it’s just because I was able to give more to Him so that He can carry those burdens for me.

It’s crazy that I still stray more often than I want to admit, and still try to do things on my own … I know the routine … I know the peace that comes with Him … I know the joy … and my prayer is that I continue to learn from my mistakes, and will be lured away from Him less and less.

Feeling my heart soften …

~Matthew