How Hard is Your Heart?

A Reposting from May 2024

In the last few years since the end of 2019, we as a people have gone through some hard stuff, and the reality is that sometimes hard times make hard people.

War does it, and so does unending stress, loss of hope, death, and loss of dreams. The heart becomes callous and unfeeling as we build a self-protective cover around us and our minds lose sight of the color and warmth of what the Father has in front of us. Joy, laughter, and even hugs become pointless in the day-to-day stress of just living. The reality is that these dark days should not be allowed to build a home in your heart.

Your heart is a Holy place, it is the garden that His Presence waters, and, above all else, it is your duty to protect that place. You see this is the one place that you and all of the Trinity can have together. Are you protecting it? Or are you allowing the anger and rage of social injustice to fester and build a poison so toxic that even one drop burns your soul? Yes, there will be a time for justice to set things right, to see the evil satanic rulers crushed and the deceiving leaders in pulpits brought to justice. But whose job is justice? You were not called to live… an eye for an eye.

If we allow our hearts to be hardened it will become harder for us in the long run. A hard heart is inflexible and not prone to following God. This is because a type of spiritual tunnel vision has now set in, fixing us on a path of, “just getting threw the day.” The walls of this path become enclosed with a tapestry of self-preservation and self-justification to protect us from pain, hard decisions, and memories.

The Lord, in his compassion, often leads his people around and past things that are a problem. But if our vision is narrowed, then by our own inflexibility, we have now strayed away from the path the Lord has for us, making things worse for ourselves. Leading us into where some of His greatest levels of compassion reside. He knows the pain and what causes us to flinch more than we do. But still, he seeks our freedom. This freedom is not for us alone, but it is meant for us to become a well of grace and mercy to touch others.

God, in his mercy, will try and guide us back by getting us to shed this stone skin that is holding us back from walking with Him. Breaking a heart of stone is not a pleasant experience. But it is one that we can very easily participate in the process of if we allow it. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

With that said, I get it. Having watched what has happened in the world these past years I know where a lot of this stress has come from and how easy it is to harden your heart. I have felt it and fought it as many of you have. Some days it can feel like it's hopeless and make you wonder, “What’s the point?”

But before we pick that attitude up or any of the other convenient heart hardeners, remember this verse. Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

What is being said?

The very act of being “anxious for nothing” requires control. This control is not control as we have been taught by the world. It is the very act of taking control of an object or item with the intention of handing it off. In other words, I am talking surrender. Giving it to a higher person who can take it, Jesus Christ.

Now that in itself is not fully enough, the second part requires us to focus our requests to the Lord through the gateway of prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. In other words, you are handing off one thing with the purpose of deliberately directing your attention in a healthy manner to someone who can do something about it. And in return, you will get a peace that guards your heart against further hardening.

Trust and hope often walk side by side. If you were to use a bit of symbology, you could say trust is a bit like an engine, and hope is the fuel that runs it. Ponder these two scriptures;

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12

As well as.

“and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5

I have learned to see a hard heart as the result of Hope being deferred. Meaning, that it was crushed, destroyed, and made useless. The heart becomes sick, hollow, and hard, it is no longer growing and living with life the way it was meant to be.

In anger, many are attacking the political world with a narrowed, bloodthirsty zeal for retribution. This is because people now feel betrayed, their trust or hope in the system has been deferred. This is where lynch mobs start becoming known for their violence and rage. And in many cases, as things continue, I fully expect to see these things take place.

But we within the Body of Christ are slowly starting to wake up to the same reality in our own backyard. If you don’t know what I’m talking about all you need to do is either look at the last several posts I have made or go just do a search on Twitter/X for the name Mike Bickel. As this investigation expands, there are many who are now seeing red.

And I fear a more violent Lynch mob attitude is now waiting to make a home out of us. As important as it is to bring justice to all the victims, are such actions worth the pain of a hard heart?

When people walk through the pain process of spiritual betrayal, one of the first emotions we all suffer is anger. Anger at what we found, anger because of the loss of what could have been. There is also the anger of the loss of friends. But at some point, a person must take the first steps beyond that phase. I know I did after leaving MorningStar, that is why I recognize what I am now seeing in the groups of IHOP people online. They are just starting this journey, the real danger is what CAN HAPPEN under a spirit of anger. Justice can be pushed forward quickly, but that current can also sweep up the innocent as well.

These actions will create spiritual tunnel vision in your heart. When the Apostle Paul started his ministry, I am sure many people struggled to forgive him. How would you feel watching this man preach, knowing that this was the man who killed your wife and children? What if you stood helplessly off to the side, watching as your husband was stoned to death under Paul’s orders? Would you not harbor anger, hostility, or even rage in your heart at the sight of him?

As hard as it is, these modern-day actions we are now seeing will test many in Christianity 101, will we forgive? This forgiveness is NOT to bring these people back to the ministry, for they should be forever done. But this forgiveness is to provide freedom for your own heart.

Note: Vacation is over. Next week, I will have a post from Mark Taylor and then on to my regular stuff.