Hardheartedness

Scripture warns us, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

God talks a lot about hard hearts in scripture.  Where does a hard heart come from?  The answer lies in not listening and submitting to the voice of God.

How do we hear God's voice?  That's a question I've been asked a lot by people I've mentored.  The best way is to be in God's word, but He can also speak through prayer, meditation and godly counsel etc.

So how does one not hear God's voice in scripture?  It is possible to approach scripture routinely and let God's word roll off us like water off a duck's back.  God warns us against doing this.  It is extremely dangerous to hear scripture and walk away with little or no effect or impression on our life.  What causes this to happen?  My understanding is that there is a variety of reasons... resistance, pridefulness, authority issues just to name a few.

When we manifest any of those (I’ll pick a resistant attitude), it results in a hard heart. Nothing can penetrate the hardened husk of a heart that is unwilling to be corrected by scripture… unwillingness to submit… unwilling to receive and follow godly counsel… 

I was talking with a friend yesterday about individuals who profess to follow God but continue to live in sin. Why and how did they get there? 

Yes, we all have sin in our lives but it’s the attitude of resistance to scripture which leads to rationalizing our behaviors and effectively rendering God’s word impotent in our lives. The more we do this, we isolate ourselves from God. The more we isolate ourselves from God, calluses form on our hearts and leads us down the slippery road of strongholds. 

How’s your heart? Are you bitter? Resentful? Proud? Resistant? 

Humility is a spiritual discipline. So I have a few questions for you today. Who do you have in your life that will tell you the truth and can prune you for your spiritual good? This is not someone who sides with you and tells you what you want to hear but instead tells you what you need to hear. How do you feel about humility? Are there people in your inner circle you admire that can be described as being humble? If not, why? Do people use that word to describe you? Are you willing to remain receptive to the invitation to humble yourself to scripture and to godly counsel? Are you willing to submit to the authority of scripture and be transformed by God’s word? 

Just something to ponder…