a new heart.

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” –Ezekiel 36:26, NLT

I grew up in a church tradition that taught me that my heart was bad and not to be trusted. The Scripture from Jeremiah was often quoted: “The heart is deceitful and wicked” (17:9). It was constantly hammered that we were dirty sinners who just happened into the grace of God. It is little surprise that I spent so much of my life feeling just like that—dirty, wicked, shameful.

As I grew older, I began to learn more about my identity in Christ. I began learning that the Apostle Paul addressed some of the most “dirty” and “wicked” churches as Saints. I began learning that the righteousness of Jesus was given to me when I chose to believe in him for forgiveness and reconciliation between us. I stumbled across the verse from Ezekiel above, clearly an Old Testament prophecy of something that was to come—something that was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit came.

The more I learned all of this, the less congruent that old identity of dirty and shameful seemed to be. It didn’t fit who God said I was.

In many ways it was true. But only partially true. And partial truths are some of the most dangerous lies out there.

It is true that we are sinners, that we do bad things. It is true that we are born into that sinful nature, that we can’t help but do wrong. It is also true that God’s grace did not match our level of worthiness or our behavior. Where sin abounded, God’s grace abounded even more (Romans 5:20). Apart from God, we are entirely helpless to do anything good (John 15:5).

But it is simultaneously true that everything changes when we meet Jesus. In Christ, there is no condemnation for us (Romans 8:1). In Christ, we are a new creation entirely; the old has passed away and the new is bursting forth (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). God called Jesus, who was perfectly sinless, to be sin for us on the cross, so that we might become the very righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The very righteousness of God. 

This is all straight out of Scripture.

If Jesus came to make us righteous, how on earth can we identify any longer with the identity of dirty sinner? 

We are saints in the eyes of God; not because of anything we have done but because the holiness of Jesus rests upon us. This does not mean we never stumble or fall. In fact, it is for this very reason (our proclivity to wander) that we have been given the Holy Spirit—to aid us in this journey towards true goodness, a return to our original design as God’s image bearers and beloved ones (Romans 8:14).

The Apostle Paul explains this new identity as the New Covenant. In essence, our position changes from a people bound by the law to a people led by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:6). Let’s take a closer look at that passage from Ezekiel we began with:

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27, NLT).

Did you catch it? Part of that new heart is being led by the Spirit. The weight of this is impossible to overemphasize.

Here’s what that means for us. We are no longer left to our own devices in our pursuit of goodness. In our journey of becoming more like Jesus, it is the Spirit who works in us both to desire more of God and to live our lives in a new way. It is the Spirit who helps us in our weakness.

All of what I’m sharing with you right now? This was the key to my transformation. I was trapped in my own depression and anxiety. I was trapped in my patterns of seeking love in men and numbing the pain of my emptiness with alcohol and promiscuity. I didn’t want to live. The concept of “life” in the Spirit felt like a slap in the face as someone who couldn’t stop thinking about new ways to escape the torment of the life I was living.

About 5 years ago, I stumbled upon another passage that opened my eyes to something I had never seen before. Galatians 5:16-18 says this: 

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

It was right there in front of me all along, but I never saw it. I was trying to do it on my own. Trying to manufacture my own righteousness by mustering up the strength to do the right thing the next time. But every time that “next time” came around, I found myself making the same old mistakes. I was a prisoner to my own brokenness.

Something that I think is important to share is that this was 5 years ago. While God has set me free of those destructive patterns now, it did not happen overnight. It took years of falling down and choosing to get back up again and trust in his grace.

Learning to live by the Spirit is a journey, and we are much harder on ourselves than God is with us.

Imagine a parent walking with their child. When the child falls, what does the parent do? They do not get angry at the child for being a child and falling. They do not gloat over the child’s failure. They simply stoop down and help them back up.

Our spiritual walk with God is a lot like this. We begin as babies, and we are needy. We stumble and fall often. But as we grow older and learn to walk more steadily, we’ll find we fall less. And no matter where we are along our journey, God is our faithful companion, ever at our side along the way.

So, as we rest in our new identity: as the beloved children of God, as saints with good hearts and new minds, may we exercise God’s patience with ourselves, growing into all God has for us. 

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practices for your new heart

All of us are different and connect with God in different ways. Skim the practices below and consider trying a practice if it grabs your attention.

Read: There’s a beautiful passage in the book of Hosea that details the picture of God’s compassion for us as we learn to walk with him. Read Hosea 11:1-11 and pay attention to the many emotions of God. What does it mean to you that God feels so passionately for you? Take a moment to receive God’s patience with you, and ask him to help you have this same grace for yourself as you learn to keep in step with the Spirit.

Write: Take some time to process what it means that you have been given a new heart. Think of three desires on your heart and write them down. Offer them up to God in prayer, trusting that he will guide you in those desires, and also remembering that he grants to those who delight in him the desires of their heart (Psalm 37:4).

Create: Draw, paint, cook, write a song, or do something creative that for you represents what it looks like or feels like to know you have been given a good and new heart. What might this look like? For me, I visualize my heart as a lush garden, full of beautiful wildflowers and fruit-bearing trees. What do you see?

Listen: Ask God to remind you of a song or play one of your favorite love songs or worship songs. What do you sense God is speaking to you through the lyrics? What do you sense God may be adding to the lyrics?

Move: What is a way you can engage movement with your new heart? Consider taking a walk and looking out for the beauty around you, whether in nature, a city, or even an art display. Ask God to help you notice beauty that represents the way he sees you and your heart. Receive his blessings with grace.