Is Your Heart Hard?

Is your heart hard? Hardness of heart is a serious thing.

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” Mark 8:17-21 (New International Version, NIV) emphasis mine

Hardness of heart will cause us to miss lessons along the way and to not understand the principles of God. You will lack spiritual sight and miss what God has done for you. You will have natural ears but you won’t be able to hear spiritually. You will forget about the past acts of God in your life.

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. Hebrews 3:12-14 (New International Version, NIV)

Hardness of heart comes from sin. A sinful, unbelieving heart will turn from God. Sin deceives and hardens the heart. Hardness of heart can eventually lead us to fall away from the Lord entirely.

Some results of a hard heart include:

• You won’t learn your lessons (Mark 6:52). We miss the lessons God wants us to learn, and this can arrest our spiritual growth.

• You won’t trust God (Psalm 95:8). In the midst of need, we won’t trust God to provide for us. This leads us to act in the flesh to meet our own needs.

• You can’t receive God’s Word (Jeremiah 4:4). This causes us to miss out on all that God’s Word can produce in our lives.

• You become deceived (I Corinthians 3:18). Sin will deceive your heart and you’ll think you are right when you are actually wrong.

How do you change your heart from a hard heart to a softened heart? First of all, you have to repent of having a hard heart, which means that you sincerely turn away from having a hard heart and make a quality decision to follow God again. Get into God’s Word and His presence. The Word and the Spirit will soften your heart towards God, and you will love and obey Him. The results of this will include:

• You will see, hear, and know God, feeling His touch and presence in your life.

• Your faith will work again, and you can believe God.

• You will learn your lessons in life.

• You will not forget all that God has done for you. You have a thankful heart instead of a hard one.

• You will be receptive to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. You will hear, see, and receive the teaching, training, correction, discipline, and guidance of God. Holy Spirit will reveal the things of God to you and you will grow.

• You will be open to the dealings of God to change.

As we obey God, our hearts stay soft. Disobedience to God makes our hearts hard. To keep your heart soft, stay connected to God.