Big Rest Energy: Cultivating Powerful Rest Habits in a Busy WorldSample

Week 3: Renewal
Day 15: A New Heart

Devotion:
Sometimes life has a way of hardening us. The disappointments, the hurts, and the challenges can make it harder to trust, harder to forgive, and harder to love. Over time, those walls we build to protect ourselves can make us resistant, even to the things God wants to do in us and through us.

But here’s the good news: God doesn’t leave us that way. He specializes in transformation. He promises to take the stony, stubborn parts of our hearts and replace them with something new—hearts that are tender, responsive, and open to His leading. He doesn’t just want to heal the wounds; He wants to renew your heart entirely, making it a reflection of His love.

Letting God work on your heart requires surrender. It means being honest about the places where you’ve grown hard and inviting Him to start something new. Today, take a moment to ask Him to soften your heart. Trust that He’s not just working in you but preparing you to love and trust in ways you may not have thought possible. He’s ready to do a new thing—let Him begin in your heart.

Prayer:
God, take my heart and make it new. Soften the areas that have grown hard and help me respond to You with love and trust. Amen.

Journal Prompt:
What’s one area of your heart that feels hardened? How can you invite God to soften it?

Practical Application:
Write down one way you can show tenderness today—whether it’s through forgiveness, kindness, or a simple act of love.