- Sometimes we hold on to
bitterness and unforgiveness to protect ourselves from more hurt, but unfortunately, in blocking
out the perceived bad, that may or may not happen, we harden our hearts to block out the good that God wants to bring into our lives. (upbeat music) - Hello beloved, and
welcome to Beloved Women where we encourage,
equip and empower women in the love of Jesus Christ
and the truth of God's word. If you're new here, welcome. I'm so glad you're here. Be sure to subscribe so
that you never miss a video, and for those of you
returning, welcome back. For the month of February, we are discussing all
matters of the heart. Today I want to talk about hard hearts. It's a hardness of heart that is dangerous to our walk in Christ. And we must be watchful
because even Christians are susceptible to a hard heart. Many times we associate
hardness with strength, hardness like a rock is
thought to be unmovable, unbreakable until, well, it's not. Our hearts were not designed
to be hard, but flexible, so they may be moved by God. Proverbs 21 says, "The
King's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord. He guides it wherever he pleases." When something is hard, instead
of bending, it will break. Its hardness then that
becomes its greatest weakness. The hardness of it actually
makes it more susceptible to destruction. So God does not want our hearts
to be hard, but flexible, that we may be moved by him. To have a hard heart is
to position ourselves to be opposed to God,
resistant of his ways, and closed off to his love. To help us stay watchful and
guard against a hard heart, here are five signs of a hard heart, and cures for each one. A hard heart is a prideful heart. Now when I say pride, you may think of someone walking around
with their chest poked out, bragging about all the good things that they are and do. It's important to note
that pride looks many ways. Pride is simply giving credit to ourselves when we should be acknowledging God. It's focusing too much on ourselves, whether good or bad,
instead of focusing on God. Also, we may not always be boasting, but if we frequently feel
the need to control things, because we think we are the
only ones that can do it, that might be a sign of pride
that leads to a hard heart. Why? Because pride causes us
to ultimately trust ourselves and not God, and when we don't trust God, we are not going to be inclined to allow him to move our
hearts and lead our lives, we'd rather follow our own heart and do what we think is best,
rather than surrender to God. In our effort to use our own
strength to control our lives, we have hardened our
hearts to the better plan that God has for us, and forget the words of Jesus when he says, "For whoever
wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever
loses their life for me will find it." The cure for this prideful kind of heart is acknowledgement of God's
greater plans and purposes, and trusting him with our lives. Number two, a hard heart is
a misunderstanding heart. We see Jesus address this kind of heart in Mark 8:14-20, while on
a boat with his disciples. Jesus is using the example
of unleavened bread to share a lesson with his disciples about sin's ability to spread, that they might be watchful as to not end up like the Pharisees who were so focused on religion and not a sincere relationship with God. Instead of hearing and understanding what Jesus was trying to teach them, the disciples worried about forgetting to bring bread on the boat. Now you have to realize
Jesus had previously turned a few loaves of bread into
many to feed thousands. So not only are the disciples not hearing the teaching Jesus desires
to share with them, they are worried about something that Jesus has already
proven he can take care of. Jesus then ask, "Why are
you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?" The disciples misunderstanding of not only the teaching of Jesus, but also who he was to
them, hardened their hearts. When we don't have a grasp of who God is and his ability to impact our lives, our hearts become hard. The cure for this type of hard heart is to not only hear God's word, but to understand it and live it. Allow his truth to actually
transform your life. Don't only be near Jesus in action, but have a sincere relationship with him. Number three, a hard heart
is an unrepentant heart. King David was considered to
be a man after God's own heart, yet the scriptures are
very open and truthful about many of his shortcomings,
his adultery, murder, pride and many scandals within his household. David was far from perfect,
but he acknowledged it and he repented of it. When the prophet Nathan confronts David in 2nd Samuel 12, about
his adultery and murder, David had a few options of
how he could have responded. He could have made
excuses that he was king and could do whatever he wanted to do, he could have told Nathan to take his negativity somewhere else, and that he didn't want to hear that. But instead of using his
power to justify his sin, he repents before God
because he recognizes that, although he is king, God is still greater, and he answers ultimately, to God. Romans 2:5 gives this warning. "But because of your stubbornness, and your unrepentant heart, you're storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath
when his righteous judgment will be revealed." No one is perfect, but when
we make excuses for our sin, instead of acknowledging
God's a better way, we harden our hearts to living God's way. God is in the business of
working with imperfect people, but when we can't admit that
we are imperfect and repent, we don't give God much to work with. Number four, a hard
heart is an unsympathetic and judgmental heart. A hard heart is one that is not responsive to the needs of others. When we are unable to
sympathize with others, we usually judge them and forget
that we too are susceptible to any sin, hardship, or suffering. 1st John 3:17 says, "But if
anyone has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" The cure for an unsympathetic heart is to remember that we all fall short, and any good that we
experience or accomplish is from God alone. We aren't entitled to a good life, but if we have one is
because God has allowed it. When we take this view,
it's easier to respond to the needs of others. Although we might not
experience the same needs that they have, we do know
what it is like to need because we all need God. And finally, number five, a hard heart is an unforgiving
and resentful heart. The dangerous thing about
unforgiveness and the resentment that it causes is that it does more harm to us than to the person we're holding those
negative feelings against. I remember after a really ugly breakup, when I was younger, and
before I met my husband, being so angry, and really
seeking the Lord about it. The Lord led me to James 1:20, which I memorized and said to
myself every time anger arose. The scripture says, "For the
anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." I had to get to a point where my peace was more important than my desire to be angry and bitter. I had to trust God to bring
about justice in his time, and the way he saw fit, and
realize that this situation, as bad as it felt at the time, was not worth taking my peace hostage or hindering my relationship with God. Sometimes we hold on to
bitterness and unforgiveness to protect ourselves from more hurt, but unfortunately, in blocking
out the perceived bad, that may or may not happen, we harden our hearts to block out the good that God wants to bring into our lives. Now, I'm not saying to openly allow people to disrespect and harm you
in the name of forgiveness. Toxic people and relationships need to have very firm boundaries
to honor your heart and the life God has given you. But you can forgive and
let go without having to enter or re-enter a toxic situation. So take the matter to
God, cast your care, anger and bitterness on him and leave it there. A soft heart is not a weak heart, which is why the bible speaks
against having a hard heart. Please know that I get it, this world we live in is a petri dish for growing hard hearts. But we don't have to let it harden ours. Ezekiel 36:26 tells us, "And
I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart
of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." If you find yourself
with a hard heart today, I pray that you give that heart to God who is in the business of making even the
hardest hearts soft again. Now I'd love to hear from you beloved, have you experienced any of
these types of hard hearts? And how has God helped you
soften that hard heart. Let's encourage one
another in the comments. Want to learn more about
overcoming an anxious heart and living a life of less
worry and more faith? Join beloved to receive
my free video bible study called "Worry-free", to learn the three lies feeding your worry and the truth to set you free. Download for free today
at belovedwomen.org. If you liked this video, I want to also invite you to check out my entire
video Bible study series called "Matters of the heart", a Bible study on emotional wellness through the book of Psalms. Click the link in the description of this video to learn more and study with me. As always, thank you so
much for watching today, and until next time, be
beautiful, be blessed and be loved. (upbeat music)
