As we get older we all need to have our annual checkups and see how our heart is doing and other vital organs. But on the spiritual side of things, it’s a good thing to do a heart checkup on a regular basis to see where your heart is. Do you have a tender, responsive heart or is it stony and stubborn?
If we are not careful, it is easy to allow our hearts to harden and become unresponsive to the needs of others around us. We turn inward and only care about our wants and needs, forsaking those who may be hurting as much or more than us. It renews my perspective when God opens my eyes and shows me those who are in a much more desperate situation than I am facing.
That doesn’t mean that he wants me to ignore my own needs. It simply means that I should keep my heart tender and be in a position to respond when he directs me to help others in need. I have found that when I begin to help others I suddenly find my own needs being met!
Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT) - “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.”