1532) Life in this world is hard. There is death, betrayal, violence, and words that wound. If you have lived as long as I have, you’ve had your share of these things. If the pain that resulted from this is strong enough, it’s easy to do all you can to turn your emotions off and not feel anything. Does this work? Sometimes, but perhaps a better question is, is it productive?

Ezekiel 36:26 tells us God will give us a new heart and spirit. He will take our hearts of stone and make them tender again. God understands our actions when times are difficult and unbearable, but he’s reminding us here that if our battle plan against these things is to turn off our emotions (as best as we can) then we’re also turning off the tender.

When a person pushes away the pain, they also push away the joy. The challenge from today’s verse is, let God help you with the pain so you can know the peace only he can give.