The Danger: Hardened Hearts

One of the scariest feelings in my walk with God is to realize that at times my heart has become hardened. For one, I rarely come to that realization on my own; it usually takes outside circumstances to wake me up to the truth. In my case, when something doesn’t go as smoothly as it should, it usually takes me back to the source and I have to ask God, “What am I missing?”

The Bible enumerates a number of problems that cause our hearts to get either hardened or distant from God. A lack of personal and focused time in the Word is one of the main ones. When Joshua was about to leave the wilderness (at last) with all the children of the first generation of the Israelites, God told Joshua to stay in the Word. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8).

Truth be told, we all pass in front of the mirror at least once a day, and usually before we go out the door. And James tells us that the mirror of the new man is the Word of God (James 1:23), so letting the Word refresh our hearts every day is imperative.

Again, before the children of Israel all left the wilderness Moses told them specifically to be very careful not to get tripped off with worshiping things, once they arrived in the Promised Land. He said, “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.” (Deut 4:9). 

Moses was saying that the neglect of their souls will cause them to forget the goodness and favor of God in their lives. You can’t pass to your children what you’ve forgotten. You can’t proclaim the mercies of God and His provisions for your family if you’ve failed to remember. This is why the keeping of our souls must be a daily battle, a daily maintenance task, not only for ourselves but for our flock(s).

If you’ve ever planted a garden, you know the importance of maintenance and upkeep, as otherwise it’ll just go array and it’ll soon ruin your harvest. Gardens naturally grow weeds and they simply go wild if neglected. Our souls are the same. They drift toward sin and rebellion. We must keep a close watch on our souls and guard our hearts. Jesus brought that out in the parable of soil (sower) when he said that “The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches will choke the Word, and it will become unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). So we’re to beware of comfort and ease.

Again, Moses warned the people, “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Deut 8:11-14). 

The whole point and purpose of the cross was for us to come back into a relationship with the Father. So intimacy is very important to God. Most marriages grow apart when the intimacy or the “fire” is gone and to prove that God wants a vibrant relationship with us, He makes it clear in the book of Revelations that He detests lukewarmness (Rev 3:2,15,16). In fact, throughout history He reminds His people that he doesn’t want a quick morning “dev”. He said , ” What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears” (Hosea 6:4).

There’s one more admonition in the Word to help us stay close to the Lord. We’re encouraged to stay in fellowship with strong brethren. It says, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12-13) 

And one more thing that the Bible warns against is bitterness, which is usually the next step after unforgiveness. That seems to be the main trend in the world nowadays: the “victim” mentality… “I’ve been hurt and violated, and I can’t forgive”. And it causes people to walk away from the faith and blame all their problems and ills on others, including the government.  It says , “looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled“ (Heb 12:15).

Jesus warned that, “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Mat.24:12). That is not only relating to the world, but sadly it is also true of believers who are losing their first love. (Rev 2:4). Jesus said that, ‘A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.’ (Luke 6:45) 

So may God help us all to stay alert, alive, awake and aware in these last days. We all have to stay close to the Lord and keep a soft heart so that we can be sensitive to the leadings of His Holy Spirit. King Solomon said, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) It seems pretty important that we attend to the condition of our hearts.

So, what then is the antidote for a hardened heart? First and foremost, we have to recognize the effect that this spiritual disease has on us. David cried out: “Search me O God, and know my heart…see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24). God can heal any heart once we recognize our disobedience and repent of our sins. But true repentance is more than simply a resolute feeling of steadfast determination. Repentance manifests itself in a changed life.

After repenting of our sins, hard hearts begin to be cured through God’s Word. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart. . . . I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:9–11)