Hebrews 3:7-9 We ought to take note of these words in which the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested me, proved me, and saw my works for forty years.
What kind of person comes to your mind when you think of a person with a hard heart? Do you think of a mean person who mistreats another? A mean person with no consideration for another is no doubt a hard hearted person, but I’m going to tell you something that we don’t always see want you to know: a sweet little grandmother can have a hard heart. A preacher in the pulpit can have a hard heart. People can have a hard heart without those closest to them even realising it. But God knows about it.
How does a person become hardened of heart? It usually happens so gradually that you don’t even realise that it has happened to you, until you have a full-blown case of it.
There was a story; it happened in a fantasy world. A mouse was playing under the bushes when a cat spotted it, and chased it all the way to the fields. The mouse was scared to death that it called out for its fairy godmother and asked that it be transformed to a cat. So, the mouse became a cat. One day, the same cat was bobbing in the prairie when a dog spotted it, and chased it all the way to the woods. The cat was scared to death that it called out for its fairy godmother and requested that it be transformed to a dog. So, the cat became a dog.
One sunny day, the dog was searching for food in the woods when a tiger spotted it, and chased it all the way to the river. The dog was scared to death that it called out for its fairy godmother and begged that it be transformed to a tiger. So, the dog became a tiger. One morning at sunrise, the tiger was prowling in the hills when a couple of native hunters spotted it, and chased it all the way to the jungle. Natives make use of tiger skin and fur as their clothing. The tiger was so scared to death that it called out for its fairy godmother and demanded that it be transformed to a native hunter. The fairy godmother firmly replied, "I have transformed you from a mouse to a cat, from a cat to a dog, from a dog to a tiger, and now you want to be transformed from a tiger to a native hunter. I can make you whatever you wish to become, but if your heart remains to be a heart of a mouse, you will always live in fear".
Ronald Knox taught, the greatest human tragedy is not a broken heart, but a hard heart and if our heart our heart remains hardened and our ears closed to the Spirits leading, our hearts will always remain closed to the leading of God.
Father God, help me see where my heart has gone cold, hard, and dry. I pray for a softened heart, for an unselfish love, for a compassionate spirit. I thank you for Your holy presence, for the love and gift of Jesus! Help me experience You more deeply. Holy Spirit, I pray for Your wisdom and guidance in my heart…and in the hearts of those I love. Amen
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