Ending the Year Consecrated, Not Calloused
A devotional by Adriana Watt
“God, your God, will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children’s hearts, freeing you to love God, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live, really live. God, your God, will put all these curses on your enemies who hated you and were out to get you.”—Deuteronomy 30:6-7 (MSG)
When an aspiring musician first picks up the guitar, they are painfully aware that their fingertips will need to toughen up. Calluses form on their fingertips over time, allowing them to play comfortably for longer periods, helping them develop greater skill.
The hardening that occurs for a guitar player’s fingers is a positive thing. This is not so with our hearts. Our hearts become calloused through fatigue, sin, or self-protection. This can cause us to become deaf, blind, and hardened to the voice and Word of God (Matthew 13:15).
As we welcome a new year, may our hearts welcome surrender and softness as evidence of true strength in the Lord and His deep love for us. The Lord “will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children’s hearts, freeing you to love God, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live” (Deuteronomy 30:6 MSG). With the calluses removed, your heart is tender, sensitive, and responsive to God without any barriers. This work of removing the calluses is for our good and His glory.
With this in mind, how do we compassionately assess a calloused heart? We begin by yielding to God and inviting Him to search us and reveal any hidden hardness within (Psalm 139:23–24). In that posture of surrendering to God, we begin to notice how calluses express themselves in daily life. Emotionally, they may appear as bitterness, fear, exhaustion, or defensiveness. Spiritually, they can show up as distraction, disinterest in the Word, or a resistance to yield fully to God’s direction. In relationships, callousness can take the form of pride, critical attitudes, or guarding our hearts against pain. All of these calluses form barriers that hinder us from loving God and others.
As these calluses come into the light, God continues the process of gently removing those hardened areas. The language in Deuteronomy 30:6 is vivid. The Message translation says God will “cut away” while many other versions say He will “circumcise”. Circumcision was performed in Bible times as a covenant sign, symbolizing God’s work of removing hardness from our hearts. Spiritually, this act signifies a covenant with God and expresses consecration to the Lord. Yes, this work is painful, no doubt. Thickened calluses may take longer to be softened one layer at a time. We have the blessed assurance that God is present and close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). After these layers are removed, He promises a new heart. With sensitive hearts, we create space to pause and reflect further.
Let’s bring our hearts before the Lord with these questions:
● Where has God been faithful in the past year?
● Is my heart soft?
● Is my heart surrendered to God?
● Where do I need to surrender to Him more fully?
● Has this year created calluses upon my heart or made old calluses thicker?
Surrender is strength in the Lord. For surrender to become our response, we need to regularly assess our hearts for hardness. May our hearts, renewed and tender, be ready for worshipping God. May we always be ready to respond in obedience, and ready for intimacy with Jesus Christ. Let us enter the new year fully trusting God with our hearts, surrendering to His work to remove the calluses and to be set apart for Him, with responsive hearts to do the good works He has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10).
Let’s Pray: Dear God, Thank You for drawing near to our hearts and for Your promise to remove the thick calluses, giving us hearts that are soft, tender, and responsive to You. Help us let down our guard, surrender fully to Your love, and trust You with every part of our hearts as we step into the new year. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.
Song of Reflection #1: "New Wine" by Hillsong Worship. Listen to it here.
Song of Reflection #2: "O Come To The Altar" by Elevation Worship. Listen to it here.
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Author Bio:
Adriana Watt, founder of “Framing Your Health in Christ” supports Christian women who find themselves running on empty from pouring themselves out in caring for others struggling with mental and emotional exhaustion and chronic stress because they have forgotten to rest and prioritize their health.
She helps them to live a guilt-free, nourishing, full, and sustainable life by helping them climb out of the trenches to see the bigger vision of their calling and God’s purpose for their lives.
Adriana is a gentle and encouraging author and speaker with a critical message for the current caregiver crisis. She is a living testimony of how it is possible to rest in Christ for your strength, healing, and to serve others well without sacrificing your health to feel fully alive again.
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Connect with Adriana:
Website: https://www.adrianawatt.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adriana_watt_wholehealth/
Email address: Care@adrianawatt.com
