My Heart Hurts for You
“And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” Eze. 11:19-20
The homeless. Hurting. Poor. Lost. Broken. Abused. Men on death row. Ex-prisoners. Disabled. Suicidal. Depressed. Abandoned. Rejected. Overwhelmed. Hopeless. Downtrodden. Ready to give up. Filthy. Addicted. Smelly. Sin-ridden. Abusers. Disabled. Dying. Sick. These are just some of the people to whom I minister. Just some of the people who have stolen my heart. Then there are the rich. Arrogant. Prideful. The ones who don’t think or know they’re lost. They have it all. But have nothing unless they have Christ Jesus. None of us have anything without Him. We are all hurting without Him. Whether we realize it or not. I have a heart for all hurting. For all of humanity. It’s not my heart of stone I had that could not see past myself, my wants, wishes, and ways. It’s the new heart God has given me. A heart of flesh. The heart that cries out to Him for humanity, that weeps over the world’s brokenness, that forsakes all of a typical life pursuing my dreams so I can be wholly His and wholly available to be used by Him to proclaim to all, “Repent and believe in Jesus. Repent and turn to God. Be saved!” A heart that cries out to the world, “It’s not enough to intellectually believe in Jesus! He says, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him (Luke 9:23).”” A heart that in this hurting, broken, perishing world shouts, “Don’t be deceived by your pleasures. They are temporal! The only One that is forever is Christ! Live for Him!” My heart sobs inside. How many will I see in heaven?
Will I see you in heaven? I don’t deserve to go there. Nobody does. I will go because of Christ’s shed blood, because I believe in Jesus who is Lord, and follow Him, live for Him, am willing to forsake this world’s ways and to learn to live by God’s Word, His ways. I can’t earn a place there. I will be there with God forever, and have a beautiful relationship with God now, because of Christ! God has given me a heart for you, whoever you are. He has given me a heart for all. Have you met the Lord? Do you know Him intimately? Do you love Him? Are you following Him? Devoted to Him? Is your life proof Christ is your Lord? Oh, how I would grieve to know you would hold onto this world’s pleasures and go to hell because you would not humble yourself and throw yourself at the Lord’s feet crying out in repentance for mercy and giving yourself wholly and forever to Him! Oh, how my heart hurts for you, if you are not wholly His! You who say you are His, are you telling this hurting world of Christ?