Hardened Heart

The Wise Teacher says “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov.4:23).  But it seems very hard to guard our heart.  There is danger in hardening our heart and thus be disobedient to the Lord. That’s what happened to even the Jesus’ disciples.  Their hearts were hardened.  What was the cause?  It was lack of understanding (Mk.6:52).  Although the disciples saw that Jesus fed so many people (5,000 men + ?) with 2 fish and 5 loaves(5:30-44), they did not understand what Jesus did.  In other words, they did not gain any insight from that miracle (NASB).  They didn’t know who Jesus was.  That’s why when they were in the boat in the middle of the lake(v.47) and when Jesus was walking on the lake, they thought Jesus was a ghost (v.49). They were terrified (v.59).  They did not understand that Jesus was Christ the Son of God.  It was because their heart was hardened.  

We must prevent our heart being hardened.  In order to do that, we must sharpen our heart.  Then how can we sharpen our heart?  We must read and meditate His Word prayerfully so that the Spirit may give us understanding.  And when the Spirit gives us understanding, we must obey His commands.  It’s like sowing the seed (Mk.4).  Our heart must be good soil.  We must not let Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in us(v.15).  And we must not let trouble or persecution to make us quickly fall away (vv.16-17).  We must not let the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word and making it unfruitful (vv.18-19).  We must hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – 30, 60 or even a 100 times what was sown (v.20).  Let us break up our unplowed ground.  It is time to seek the Lord (Hosea 10:12).

His Word is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces(Jer.23:29).  And the Word is “living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb.4:12). Let us keep on praying and pursue spiritual sensitivity and discernment