“God gives a new heart to all who surrender their heart in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – December 3, 2025
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
God gives a new heart to all who surrender their heart in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit’s spiritual heart surgery is not a bypass or temporary stent, but a new heart fashioned in heaven uniquely for you. No need to worry about your spiritual heart giving out as long as you don’t give up on the Lord; He is always there to comfort and strengthen your heart.
What does the prophet mean when he says, “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh?” Ezekiel’s revealing God’s radical work of transformation. A heart of stone is cold, resistant, unresponsive, hardened by pride, sin, and unbelief until it can no longer feel the warmth of divine love. But a heart of flesh is tender, alive, awake to the Spirit’s whisper. God doesn’t patch up the old heart or polish its surface; He replaces it entirely with one that beats in rhythm with His own, compassionate, obedient, fully alive in Christ’s love. This is grace at its most fundamental: not self-improvement, but supernatural recreation. A new heart is God’s gift.
Besides receiving a new heart, you also gain a new spirit. But what does this mean practically, beyond theological reasons? Charles Spurgeon explains that the “new spirit” is the Holy Spirit Himself living inside, transforming your will, affections, and desires from within. “Not only a new spirit, but My Spirit. God himself shall come and dwell in those hearts which once were a receptacle for the devil.” He stresses that superficial change is never enough, what’s truly necessary is internal renewal: a new nature, a new mind, and new motives. With the indwelling Holy Spirit, you are empowered to walk in obedience, not as a burdensome duty, but as a joyful response, not because you have to, but because you want to. The law is no longer inscribed on stone tablets but engraved on hearts of flesh, and what was once duty becomes delight. Approximately 600 years later, the Apostle Paul astutely reflects on Ezekiel, “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:3).
Wow, what a powerful gift from our heavenly Father, a new heart and a new Spirit to follow Jesus Christ with total abandonment and love others generously on His behalf. What is holding you back? As the bold disciple Peter reminds us, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3). Fear, comfort, or the desire for control can subtly hinder God’s transforming work. Yet the Spirit equips you to forgive when it’s hard, to give when it’s costly, to serve when it’s inconvenient. His divine power gives you the courage to reconcile with a colleague, mentor a struggling friend, and love your family with renewed compassion. Don’t just try harder or aim to be a better person, instead, yield to the Spirit’s work within you, allowing Him to turn duty into desire and obligation into joy. The question isn’t whether God has given you what you need. He has. The real question is whether you will trust Him enough to obey. Obey without delay, surrendering daily to the Spirit’s love, which guides your life and work!
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT).
Prayer
Lord, I gratefully receive Your gift of a new heart and new Spirit. Remove my hardness, renew my love, and shape my desires to fully reflect Your grace and goodness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Application
How is your heart growing more like Jesus, and how are you submitting to the fullness of the Holy Spirit in your life?
Related Reading
Psalm 37:7; Proverbs 3:5-6; Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 2:20; James 4:7
Worship Resource
Brotherhood Musiq: Open the Eyes of My Heart
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