May 6 – When You Feel Numb Inside

 Ezekiel 36:26 –

"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." (NIV)

SITREP:
What do you do when your heart goes numb—not just from pain, but from survival mode? War and trauma can harden a heart, but God specializes in renewal. He offers to replace numbness with life, to restore the ability to feel love, joy, and hope again.

Ezekiel was called to prophesy to Israel during one of the darkest seasons of their history—exile in Babylon. Their rebellion had led to judgment, but what lingered was more than guilt. It was despair. Distance. Disconnection from God and from their own sense of identity.

Their hearts weren’t just sinful—they were stone cold from the weight of shame and sorrow. And into that spiritual frostbite, God speaks: “I will give you a new heart…”

This wasn’t a message about behavioral reform. It was about divine heart surgery. God didn’t expect them to fix themselves. He promised to take what was numb and lifeless and make it whole again.

How This Rebuilds a Soldier’s Faith:
You don’t have to see combat to understand how life can harden a person. But warriors—especially those who’ve served in the thick of it—know what it’s like to go emotionally cold. To function, not feel. To shut it down, not break down. But eventually, survival mode steals more than it protects.

Ezekiel 36:26 is a promise for that kind of warrior:

• “I will give you a new heart…”
• You can’t force healing. But you can receive it. God’s not asking for a patched-up version of what’s broken—He offers something brand new.
• “…and put a new spirit in you.”
• That fire you once had? The connection to God, to purpose, to people—it’s not gone for good. He can reignite what’s burned out.
• “I will remove from you your heart of stone…”
• God doesn’t shame you for the numbness. He understands it. But He also refuses to leave you stuck there.
• “…and give you a heart of flesh.”
• A heart that feels again. Loves again. Hopes again. That’s not weakness—it’s strength restored.

You were built to endure, but not to live emotionally dead. This promise is your redeployment—not to survive, but to come back to life.

ENDEX:
You’ve seen enough to make the heart go silent—but God hasn’t forgotten how to make it beat again. Ezekiel 36:26 is His promise to renew what war and trauma tried to destroy.

Lay down the numbness. Let Him rebuild you from the inside out.
You were made for more than survival. You were made to live.

AAR (After Action Review):
Have you ever felt your heart grow cold from what you’ve seen or been through—and then experienced God’s power to soften it again? Share how He met you in that hard place and began to breathe new life into your spirit. Your story could remind someone else that numbness isn’t permanent—and that healing is possible.

Make your voice count—share what you’ve lived.

Share your experiences in the comments below. Your words could encourage someone else walking a similar path.

If you're comfortable, include as much or as little personal detail as you’d like. We suggest:

• Name
• Veteran, Retired, Family Member etc.
• Service Branch
• Years of Service (or Deployment Dates and Locations)

Every story matters—and yours might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.