Psalm 95:8-11
The hardening of one’s heart toward God, His Word, will and way, doesn’t happen accidentally, but rather develops by one’s own permission. It is like two puppies playing tug-of-war with a rag. The process is to keep grabbing more and more of the rag as the opponent gives it up, little by little, until one has taken it away from the other. Where God’s will is concerned, one either holds onto it, while trying to take on more, or they keep on giving it up, little by little, until they have let go of it altogether.
When one lets go of God’s will by decision, this makes way for the concept, the habit, the purpose, the determination, the loyalty and the desire for serving God to be all overthrown in one’s heart. This permissiveness to let go of God’s will, unto allowing that which is contrary to God and His will, is the conceiving of hardness in one’s heart toward God and God’s will.
Once the allowance is made in the heart to deny the doing of God’s will, this resistant attitude toward doing God’s will becomes the resistant attitude toward any and every call to return to the doing of God’s will. Not only that, but by being resistant to God’s will, there is a resultant resistance to that which advocates the doing of God’s will.
Now the sum of these: What started out to be just a letting go of God’s will on some issue of life, has now consumed one’s whole life in that which is in resistance toward God, God’s will, and God’s ministry, which advocates the doing of His will.
The sad part of it all is that hardness of heart is self-afflicting: “He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Proverbs 29:1
A person’s resistance to God’s counsel for life, results in their failure to follow the right course of life, leading to suffering great loss in life (and maybe of life.) The hardness of one’s heart toward God’s will, means their heart is hard toward God’s Word–thus shutting their heart’s door to God’s mercy and grace, which is man’s only hope of deliverance. So, hardness of heart not only results in the wreck of one’s life, but it also prevents the coming of God’s Life Squad to the rescue.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 1:18-20
“…IF YE WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS…”
SHARING
