Guard Your Heart

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.  --Ephesians 4:32 (New King James Version)

Finally, all of you should be of one mind.  Sympathize with each other.  Love each other as brothers and sisters.  Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.  --1 Peter 3:8 (New Living Translation)

A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life; a hardhearted person lives a hard life.  --Proverbs 28:14 (The Message) 

God cherishes a tender heart.  Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14).  Most children are innocent; they are not yet consumed by anger, bitterness, or callousness.  Yet as we grow and mature, the world exerts more and more influence upon us.  Unless we guard our hearts, they will too easily become hardened.

What does God do with a hardened heart?  He can do only what we let Him do in us and through us.  Hardness of heart is a human condition, shared by all.  To the degree we allow God access to our hearts, He will do one of three things.

Give us over to our rebellion
When the Pharisees were testing Jesus, they asked him a question about divorce. They wanted to know what he thought, because they taught that Moses permitted it.  In their minds, if the Law allowed it, then it was righteous.  Jesus disagreed.  "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard.  But it was not this way from the beginning." (Matthew 19:8)  He went on to say, "But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female.  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh.  So they are no longer two but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Mark 10:6-9)  Man's sin hardens his heart, so that he cannot continue in love, in joy, and in peaceful cohabitation with even the wife of his youth, so God gives them over to their sinful desires.  His heart breaks when he sees divorce, but he can forgive.

Hebrews 3, starting in verse 7 to the end of the chapter, quotes Psalm 95, a story about the Israelites who followed Moses out of Egypt.  But along the way, they rebelled.  God warns us not to be like them.  "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."(Hebrews 3:7-8)  We all know what happened in that Old Testament story.  The people rebelled, and God said that they would not see the Promised Land.  They wandered the desert for forty years, until that whole generation had died off.  Then it was their children, the next generation, that God led into his Promise.

God uses our disobedience to show His glory
When Moses went to Pharaoh to ask permission to lead the people of Israel into the desert to worship their God, Pharaoh hardened his heart, and would not let the people go.  God sent the first of ten plagues, and still Pharaoh would not change his mind.  His intent was clear, even after the second, third and fourth plague.  Then the scripture starts to say that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.  We should make clear that Pharaoh himself had made the decision.  God just intensified it.  Before the seventh plague, God had this message for Pharaoh: "But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." (Exodus 9:16)  The Apostle Paul echoes this verse in his letter to the Romans, then he says, "Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden." (Romans 9:18).

This, I think, is where our free will meets his sovereign wisdom and power.  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed into the likeness of his son...And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30).  Going back to the Exodus account, God was not about to let the foolish pride of Pharaoh keep him from working out his perfect plan for his people.  Pharaoh had made his choice, but God was able to work his will and his way in that situation.  Just as God foreknew that Pharaoh would harden his heart, he also foreknew that Moses and the people of Israel would be destined for great things; thus destined, they were called to go out from Pharaoh's presence; thus called, they were sent forth to engage with God in a way that had never before happened, and to encounter miracles along the way, to the glory of God.

God helps us overcome, if we allow him
As I said before, hardness of heart is a human condition.  But we are called to be like Jesus, who was fully human but also fully God, fully controlled by the Spirit.  Look at Hebrews chapter 3 again.  Remember the warning against rebellion, like the people of Israel had done, resulting in their losing out on seeing God's promise fulfilled.  "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:12-13)

The world can really turn up the heat.  You may get burned.  Don't let your heart get stale.  This past week I had to ask forgiveness from God and from my daughter.  I was on a mission, and on a deadline, and traffic and circumstances were not cooperating.  I was stuck at a light on my way to the bank, and I wanted to get there before the bank closed, but our line had already sat through two cycles of red lights and I was not getting any closer to my destination.  Then my sweet, innocent daughter called to ask a favor.  I got caught up in my circumstances, and barked at her that I didn't have time to think up a solution to her problem right now, she would just have to wait her turn.  I let the stresses of life harden my heart, and missed out on showing grace and compassion to one I love dearly.  If only I had shielded my heart from the stressful situation by keeping my mind set on God.  "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on you, because he trusts in you." (Isaiah 26:3).  My trust was in my own strength to accomplish my own purpose.  God showed me that I had no control over traffic, or time, or anything having to do with that situation.  If I had trusted the Lord to get me where I needed to be, to meet my needs at that moment, perhaps I would have had a song in my heart rather than a growl in my voice.  My telephone call with my daughter would have been so much more loving and fruitful.

"Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

"10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)"

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

[Chorus x2]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name
Lord, I'll worship Your holy name

Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name
Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name
I'll worship Your holy name