A Hardening Heart

Today's blurb is going to be based in an online devotional: In Touch Ministries Daily Devotional with Dr. Charles Stanley. I think The Danger of a Hardening Heart is something that we will all face at some point in time. I'll comment more as we go along. =)

The Danger of a Hardening Heart

Hebrews 3:7-19 - Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, TO DAY IF YE WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS, AS IN THE PROVOCATION, IN THE DAY OF TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS: WHEN YOUR FATHERS TEMPTED ME, PROVED ME, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. WHEREFORE I WAS GRIEVED WITH THAT GENERATION, AND SAID, THEY DO ALWAY ERR IN THEIR HEART; AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS. SO I SWARE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER INTO MY REST.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, TO DAY IF YE WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS, AS IN THE PROVOCATION. For soe, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

God repeatedly calls His children, but the condition of each heart determines the result. Those with soft and tender hearts hear His voice and yield to Him in obedience, but those with hard hearts resist His warnings and instructions. Surprisingly, upon hearing the same voice, some believers are motivated to a deeper and more obedient relationship with the Lord, while others reject and refuse Him.

Since hardening is a slow process that's often accompanied by rationalizations and excuses, the danger signs may not be readily recognized. How do you respond when the Lord speaks to you through His Word, your conscience, or messages based on Scripture? Carefully consider the following characteristics of a hardening heart:

-Insensitivity or resistance to what God says
-Refusal to put yourself under His authority
-Disobedience to what you know the Lord is instructing you to do
-Justification of sinful conduct
-Resistance to the reproof of others
-Preoccupation with the things of this world (career, relationships, possessions)
-Little interest in spiritual matters
-Absence of private devotion (Bible reading and prayer)
-Avoidance of public worship (gathering with other believers)

I just want to add that not all of things have to be present to show that a heart is beginning to harden. If even one is beginning to show up in our lives, we should take the time to evaluate our relationship with Him.

A hard heart does not have to stay in that condition. If you have discovered any of the above traits in your life, begin today to return to the Lord. Ask Him to give you a new heart to know Him.
Jeremiah 24:7 - And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
Remember, He specializes in making all things new.
II Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

In my own life, I find that being in God's way and in His Word is extremely comforting. For instance, I didn't even realize that this devotional ended in the Bible verse that I wrote my first blog based on (it was the sermon at my church this past Sunday) until I got the bottom and typed it just now. But it makes me feel amazing to find these "coincidences." A very wise man (Albert Einstein to be specific) once said, "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous," and I believe that to be very true. It's easy to forget about God's constant presence in our lives, but I think that we should all try to see His goodness in everything around us. Even if that thing is just a small coincidence. =)

Psalm 34:8 - O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (KJV)
Psalm 34:8 - Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see - how good God is. Blessed are you who run to Him. (The Message)

God Bless,
Taylor