The Bible says that if you can hear God’s voice, do not harden your heart. We want to keep a tender heart. I remember years ago I was in Portland, Oregon, at a Billy Graham Crusade, and after Billy spoke, we got in the car and we were driving away. I loved one point he made, and I turned to the back where he was seated with his son Franklin. I said, “Billy, I loved your point when you said Christ can re-sensitize your conscience,” and that’s exactly what God can do. Your heart may be a little hard, but Christ can re-sensitize your conscience and He can soften your heart.
Practical Principles
- The hardening of one’s heart can happen to anyone. Every time you hear the gospel, every time you hear God’s offer of forgiveness and you reject it, your heart gets a little harder.
- The devil’s a good imitator. He floods the market with all kinds of cheap imitations, making it harder for a person to know what the truth is. Our world is filled with all kinds of religious ideology and gurus and self-proclaimed prophets and other religious leaders all saying they have the truth. What is the genuine article? The Christian faith. Everything else is an imitation.
- Pharaoh made his decision and the Lord strengthened him in it. You make your choices, then your choices make you. But Pharaoh was culpable. Pharaoh was responsible. And if your heart gets hard, it’s because you chose to harden it yourself.
- One of the easiest places to get a hardened heart is in church. The same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay.
Relevant Reminders
- If you face opposition all around, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing the wrong thing; it probably means you’re doing the right thing.
- The moment you become a Christian, you enter into a spiritual battle.
- There’s nothing wrong with complaining or lamenting in your prayers as long as you’re not crying out against God, but crying out to God.
- Sometimes the Lord will bring our gods down so we will understand there’s no god but Him.
Applicable Actions
Let me ask you today, Christian, do you have a hardened heart? How do you know? One way is you just stop caring. You don’t care about your spiritual growth. You don’t care about your Christian brother or sister. You don’t care about lost people. You don’t want to worship. Another sign of a hardened heart is that you’re always critical.
Let God re-sensitize your conscience and then keep your heart tender.
