Scripture Focus: Hebrews 3
“Just as the Holy Spirit says, ‘TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.’” —Hebrews 3:7-8, NASB
“The hardening of our hearts is the spring of all our other sins.” —Matthew Henry
We’ve been talking a lot about the heart in these weeks leading up to the True Woman Wyoming conference. We want to arrive at the conference with hearts that are already soft and responsive to the Lord.
What does it mean to “harden your heart”? Medically, when a physical heart becomes “hard,” it is due to a condition known as scleroderma, referring to a connective tissue disease that affects vital organs, including the heart, eventually resulting in death. Spiritually, when we harden our hearts to God’s instruction, it affects our entire outlook, our attitude, and ultimately our future.
Hardening of the spiritual heart occurs when we become resistant to the Word, the will, and the ways of God. We turn away from His instruction and go our own way. As you recall, it was the woman who first hardened her heart toward God in a certain garden!
The cycle goes something like this: You are walking through life, enjoying the presence of God, when suddenly He chooses to lead you up a new path—perhaps a steeper trail than you’re used to climbing. You may be filled with fear (I’ve never gone this way before). Or perhaps you’re not fond of doing hard things (Couldn’t I take a breather for a while?). Maybe you’ve seen another path that looks more comfortable, so you offer that route as a suggestion. The first step in the cycle of hardening your heart is to resist the path God has chosen for you.
Next in the cycle is to put your fingers in your ears. God uses truth from His Word, or perhaps life circumstances or counsel from godly friends, to get your attention. But you you’ve determined to go your own way and you don’t want the conviction of God’s voice to interfere with your plans.
Tragically, you proceed on your own way and find a measure of comfort in justifying your actions. By this time your heart is becoming even harder, resistant to any conviction of God, unwilling to move, bend, or surrender to the hand of God. This is a dangerous place for a believer. God will often graciously move in with some type of opposition in order to alert you to your pride and rebellion (James 4:6). It is critical to respond to Him in repentance. The failure to repent is the open door to spiritual bondage.
Take Time to Reflect
Work your way through the warning of Hebrews 3 and then read Psalm 95. Can you recall times when you’ve hardened your heart to God’s instruction? Do you recognize any of this cycle occurring in your life currently?
True Woman Wyoming Prayer Focus
Pray for each woman who will be attending the True Woman Wyoming conference and for the people in their lives that they impact most directly. The influence of the culture is strong, so pray that God will make their hearts receptive to the Truth and that they will become Truth-speakers rather than being sucked into the mold of the world.
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