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The Hardening of the Heart
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Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Listen to the radio broadcast of The Hardening of the Heart
Download audio fileHeart disease is rather a big deal these days. A diet high in refined carbohydrates, combined with a lack of exercise is taking its toll.
The problem seems to be hardening of the arteries. But it’s not a condition that affects many young people, because it takes time for arteries to harden. Decades in fact, of dietary abuse. And the reason that arteries harden is as a defence against the effects of the stuff that we’re putting in our mouths. Eventually, they rupture and there you have it – a heart attack or a stroke.
The Bible talks about the hardening of our hearts, heart disease if you will, too. Several times.
The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse – who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings. (Jeremiah 17:9)
I mean when that’s what’s going on in your heart, when that’s the way you’re abusing yourself, your heart is going to get diseased. It’s going to harden. Here’s how it goes. Here’s the vicious circle.
Pride and hardness of heart go hand in hand. Pride is the enemy of humility. And pride … pride stops us from laying hold of God’s wisdom, which causes us pain and in turn, hardens our hearts, like scar tissue. It’s a vicious, vicious circle.
And when that’s what’s going on inside us, we’re not prepared to take advice from anyone. We’re hunkered down, defending ourselves, just trying to survive … and the wisdom of God is something that we just don’t want to accept.
Have you ever found yourself in that sort of a situation? That place where you’re so damaged, that you can’t receive the good advice of others or the wisdom of God that’s actually going to make things better?
It’s often the way things go. In protection mode, our heart hardens and we become unteachable. Unaccepting of the wisdom that will set us free.
Is your heart desperately sick? Be honest. How teachable is your spirit? How open are you, right at this moment, to accept the powerful wisdom of God that will set you free from the maladies that are plaguing your life?
Has sin so wracked you with pain and suffering that your heart feels as hard as stone? If you’re in that desperate situation, then I have a Word from the Lord for you today. It’s a prayer that can set you free from this dark and difficult place.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:10)
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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