Hardened Hearts

Several years ago I preached a sermon in our local church on the topic of “hardened hearts.”  At the time, I felt it was a really important topic, and today, feel that it is more important than ever.  So please join me in the next couple of blogs to examine this crucial topic.

In my research for a book I’ve been writing on Backsliding (since published called Victory Over Backsliding), it occurred to me that I knew very little about the development of a hardened heart, even though I have struggled with this throughout my life.  How does it happen exactly?  So I asked the Lord what it means.  “What is a hardened heart?”  Before sharing His insights to me, I’d like to offer the dictionary definition of hard hearted -- without pity, cruel, unfeeling (Gage Canadian, 2000, pg 699)

When someone is hard hearted, it is generally apparent that they can no longer be reached with the Gospel or receive spiritual things of God because they will no longer listen.  They do not want instruction; therefore they will not allow the Lord to change them.  The Lord gave me an immediate Biblical reference – James 1:21.  I read it with great interest since I would never have connected hardened hearts to this verse.  

Jam 1:21  Therefore, rid yourselves of everything impure and every expression of wickedness, and with a gentle spirit welcome the word planted in you that can save your souls. (ISV) 

(King James Version) -- Jam 1:21 Therefore putting aside all filthiness and overflowing of evil, receive in meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. 

I also read the rest of James 1 leading up to that verse so that I could understand the context in which James was speaking.  The beginning of James talks about trials – the first thing he says is: 

Jam 1:2  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are involved in various trials,  

A NOTE ABOUT TRIALS:  “Consider it pure joy …”  Yet, how many of us do just that?  We tend to be creatures of comfort – we like routine and we like to know what’s up ahead, yet this is not the walk of faith we are called to.  I like what Frank Clark says, “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” A walk of faith, rather than frightening, is really the most exciting life there is, because the Lord walks with us. Yet, it is often at the point of trials that we can begin to harden our heart, and not even really be aware that this is what we’re doing.   

In James 1 there is a progression to hardening our hearts that begins from verse 2 and continues to verse 21.  So we begin with trials and how we are to respond.  Then James seems to make a complete switch in thinking in verse 5 – He talks about wisdom – when we are hit hard with a trial, we need to immediately go to the throne of grace and ask God – What do I do in this situation? In Proverbs 1:7 it says,  

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge:  

 And again verse 5 -- A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:  

What happens when we fail to ask the Lord about a trial or situation that greatly concerns us?  I think we all experience stress – this makes us tired and anxious.  We might make some really bad decisions – we might end a job or a relationship prematurely.  We might move away when the Lord has called us to stay where we are.  And especially, if we haven’t been walking with the Lord as we should be, trials can hit us hard.  Even for strong Christians, trials are often hard to understand.  Yet, we should expect them because the Lord said that we would have them.  Some people swear and curse God when they lose a loved one or a much needed job.  They think, “How could God be a God of love to have allowed such a thing to happen to me?”  With anger comes resentment, even bitterness – the unfruitful seeds that harden a heart and prevent any growth from happening.  So we need to think back to a time in our lives that maybe we didn’t handle a severe trial very well.  How did we react?  Was it with anger?  Or did we trust?  For most of us, it’s difficult to pray when our world seems to be falling apart, yet it is at this important time that we really need to pray and listen to what the Lord has to say to us, and trust Him more than ever to see us through.  We need to do this before we allow our hearts to harden from the wrong kind of reaction like anger, fear and distrust.  

Further in James, verse 19, an important connection is made to hardened hearts that leads up to verse 21.  It says: 

let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:  

Swift to hear – did I listen to God at the beginning of my trial?  Or did I react in anger and shoot off at the mouth cursing myself and others? 

Was I slow to speak?  Is my opinion more important than God’s opinion?  If I prayed, did I do all the talking, or did I allow the Lord to speak into my life?  Was I slow to anger?  Or did I immediately react adversely and blame God or others?  But, if I listened to God in the first place, then my heart was already humbled to receive His instruction.  So by the time I get to verse 21, my instruction is now to humble myself & receive HIS INSTRUCTION – this is the engrafted WORD that will save me from all that is potentially evil & destructive to my life.  

Job was a man who suffered many trials.  Recently I was reading Job 36:15– (KJV: “He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.”   

(GNB) Job 36:15  But God teaches people through suffering and uses distress to open their eyes. 

This is significant because it puts great meaning to the trials we have in our lives.  Rather than useless and bothersome, they are the doorway to learning and changing – they are the very stuff of which makes us stronger Christians and more pliable to be changed into the likeness of the Lord.  But learning is only possible when we are open to listen and hear from the Lord.  I believe that oftentimes we are brought to a place where we are ready to listen.  And, like Job, sometimes our suffering seems to go on and on.  But if we trust and wait on the Lord, when we come near to the end of a trial we then have a tremendous spiritual experience, and not usually before.  We can say, like Job, who had lost his family, his livelihood and all that he had enjoyed,  

Job 23:10  But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.   

So from this study, I discovered a connection between a willingness to listen and obey the Word of God (often and especially in times of trial) and that the almost certainty that if we don’t, our hearts will harden because we have chosen to disregard what God wants to teach us.

The second part of this sermon will be included in the next blog.