Harden Not Your Heart

Have the verses,”harden not your heart,” given you pause? Have you felt that the Lord is leading you in some way, but you just don’t feel like following? In this podcast, Felice leads you through some thoughts and prayers for getting back on track.

Recently a situation came up in my life that made me realize I was not following the Lord’s leading as I should. It has happened to me throughout the years and so it was easy to recognize when it began to happen again. Have you ever felt like that? You know, or you feel like you know what the Lord wants you to do, but then you decide to do something else, or maybe not act on what the leading is.

First let’s look at several Scriptures that discuss this. Hebrews 3:14-16 (Read on Air)

And, Hebrews 4:6-8

Have You Heard the Words, Harden Not Your Heart in Prayer?

This hardening of heart for me was in regard to a thought one time and another time an action. I felt the Lord was leading me in a specific direction, and there was uncertainty on my part to say yes. Here is one example I can give you, as a young mom, I was involved in many volunteer organizations, at church, and at a women’s group. I was selected to be on a group that would tackle educational issues. Since I homeschooled my children, I was the perfect candidate first because I had an education degree, and secondly, because I didn’t have any ties to the local education system. However, I had this feeling that it would not be well received at home, and I was right; my husband was not a fan of this new “honor.” In my mind, rationalizing it, I felt the Lord had prepared me and put me in an ideal position to make real change. But after talking to my husband, I felt unsettled. My heart was unsettled. I lacked peace. It took some deep soul-searching and some extensive conversations with my husband before I let it go. Then the peace came.

I’ve had other situations where I did not feel peace after making a big decision, yet I knew that if it was God’s will, it would happen regardless. One bad decision, in retrospect, was after seeing what I felt was a God thing and then ignoring it. My heart was hardened because I knew what I wanted to do – and did it.

If the previous two verses are not enough to make you prayerfully think – let me read this next one.

Jeremiah 16:12 says, (Read on Air.)

That is a wake-up call for all of us – so how do we check, and how do we know if we have a hardened heart? We can learn so much from the Scriptures. And God gives us multiple chances to return to him and to change our ways, as we can read in the passages of Hebrews and Jeremiah, and we have the option to turn back.

But you may be asking, how do we know? How do we know if we are hardening our hearts?

Here are some ways you can check your motivation and heart.

Are you walking with the Lord? Do you have time for prayer, reflection, and reading Scripture or some other spiritual book?
Do you have a gut feeling that something is not right? A feeling of hopelessness?
Do you have a restlessness you can’t put your finger on?
Do you avoid thinking about the issue at hand and bury it under the guise of being busy or not dealing with the problem?
Do you suffer from stubbornness? Ask someone close to you; it is hard to figure this out for yourself.

Any of these things can lead to a hardness of heart. Avoiding an issue, not making time for prayer, ignoring your sense that something is not right, restlessness, or avoiding thinking through the issues can then be compounded by helplessness. Some problems are serious and out of our hands, but yet it is important to prioritize time to pray. If nothing else, for yourself so you can get tuned in to God.

In the New Testament, we also read about hardened hearts – but even in the midst of Christ! You would think that having Jesus in your company and being with him day after day would be an eye-opener. Sitting there first hand, watching the miracles and the teachings, but in Mark 8:16-18 (Read on air). The apostles had Jesus in their midst, and still, they didn’t realize that all they had to do was ask, and he would provide for them. This verse gives me hope. It tells me that it was not uncommon to have hearts that were hardened, and there is hope for us because, unlike the disciples, when we do not have bread, we can pray for that bread, that crumb of knowledge, that assurance that God is with us and in our midst.

We read in Isaiah 6:10 (Read on air) We want what we want. I know I pray, but often it truly is, “Lord, please do my will.” With my son in the military, still in training but nonetheless straining when I can’t talk to him for a long stretch of time, I am constantly on my knees – our family has a prayer chain where I post prayer requests each day and a Scripture verse, but it is truly asking the Lord to bless, provide, and allow my son success in this training – Often I remind myself to go to the beginning of the prayer and type in words, Praise You and Thank-you Jesus for all you have provided.

So how should we pray? In Ezekiel, we see a perfect example, Ezekiel 36:26-27 (Read on Air).

We need that reminder. Are we walking in our own flesh? Are we doing what pleases us above others? I am sure the answer is no for many of you, but even as I read this, I think there are ways I can improve. Please, Lord, give me a new heart and a new spirit! Amen!

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Harden Not Your Heart