Heart of Stone

Why is it I feel compassion for some people who struggle with addiction and others I don't? At times I look at a couple of people who are high maintenance due to addiction issues and I think wow, I have compassion and pray regularly for person A, but I am apathetic and rarely pray for person B and go so far as to avoid her telephone calls, seeing her in person and hope she never gets on Facebook.

My heart is stone towards her which is wrong on many levels. I don't understand why I am judging her so harshly, why there is no love left in my heart for her, why I don't care about her and why I do not pray for her. (She is a relative.)

I should be on my knees asking the Lord to forgive me and asking Him to fill my heart with love for her as well as deliver her and heal the wounds which let addiction take over her life.

Do any you struggle with simply loving a person as Christ has called us to do?

I should pray this verse over myself daily: 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. I should also remember not to judge and to love.

I know Christ's grace is sufficient to accomplish what He says it can. I ask you to pray for me, that my heart will be filled with love for person B; that I would see her with the eyes of Christ.

Thank you.

Comments

Divinely Acquitted said…
I'll be praying for you. I've also struggled with the same harshness resulting from a "heart of stone" many times before. I know it's the devil lying to me again. I surrender it to the Lord all the time. I also directly talk to the person if she is close enough to me to open up my heart. Praying together about it always help.
August 19, 2011 at 10:09 AM
Angela Baylis said…
I SO get this, Annette! I'd love to sit here and lie to you and tell you that I can't relate, but it's simply not true. I get convicted a lot. I recently heard (again) that we will be judged for our thoughts, too. Our thoughts?? Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch! I'll pray for you while I am praying for me regarding this subject. Thanks for bringing up this very difficult situation. It took a lot of vulnerability. I so appreciate it. Now, stop it Sister! Try to get in her head and put yourself in her shoes. She must be hurting or something. Try to have compassion for her! I'm sure you can learn to love her if you look for the good qualities. Also, try to look at her out of His eyes. How does He see this person? He loves her more than we can comprehend. I wonder if she knows how much He loves her? I'm going to pray for her while I'm praying for us!

Love,
Angie xoxo
August 23, 2011 at 8:25 PM
Cheryl Barker said…
I was thinking of the very verse you mentioned as I was reading your post. Praying now that God will remove the heart of stone that you have regarding this person and give you a heart of flesh for her instead. He can do it. Blessings to you, Annette.
August 24, 2011 at 6:10 PM
nanette@momneverstops.com said…
Oh my, what a wonderful honest post. Thank you. I have been dealing with a situation similar and praying that God opens my heart and guides me to be a better person through it.
August 25, 2011 at 9:38 PM
About Nancy said…
Your feelings are normal. Not sure why our compassion flows toward some and not others. When that happens to me I know it's one of two things: 1- Selfishness (the other person is requiring more than I care to give) or 2- Distance from God (His love is not fully in me, which points to sin in me).

Your honesty to voice the issue is the first step toward overcoming this block. You are doing great!

Blessings!
September 3, 2011 at 8:20 AM
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