I used to think people with hard hearts were God-haters or, at the
least, people in rebellion to Him. That’s what I used to think until
the day the Lord told me I had a hard heart.
<p>
While on a flight to a meeting, I was reading about the story of Jesus
walking to His disciples on the water, recorded in Mark 6:45-52. They
were in a terrible storm. After nine hours they were still only halfway
across the Sea of Galilee, normally a two-hour trip. They were in
trouble and fighting for their lives. Yet here came Jesus walking on
top of the very thing that was trying to kill them. He was totally in
control.
<p>
This impacted me so much that I put my Bible down and just stared out
the window. A solid layer of clouds was beneath the plane. In my
imagination, I thought about what it would be like to see Jesus walking
on the clouds. That’s not any more impossible than Jesus walking on the
water! I was just awestruck as I considered this.
<p>
I continued reading in Mark 6:51 and saw that the disciples had a
similar reaction. The latter part of that scripture says,
<br>
<b><i>They were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.</i></b>
<p>
That’s exactly the way I felt. I thought to myself that anyone who
really thought about the magnitude of this miracle should feel the same
way. They should be shocked and amazed at the miraculous power of God.
Then I read the next verse:
<br>
<b><i>For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was
hardened</i></b> (Mark 6:52).
<p>
It was just like someone slapped me in the face. For the first time, I
realized that being shocked, amazed, or surprised at a miracle was an
indication of a hard heart. Wow! Or another way of saying it is,
relating to the natural more than the supernatural is an indication of
a hard heart. By that definition, my heart was hard.
<p>
This set me on a three-and-a-half-year journey seeking the Lord. I
wanted to know what a hard heart really was, what caused it, and how to
cure it. This has turned out to be one of the most important things the
Lord has ever shown me.
<p>
The dictionary defines hardened as cold, insensitive, unfeeling, and
unyielding. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll have to agree that
there are certain areas of your life where you have a hard heart toward
God.
<p>
God made us so that we can harden our hearts and literally shut out
unwanted influences. It was meant to be a positive thing, but because
we haven’t understood this, what God meant for good has actually worked
against us.
<p>
One of the best examples of hardheartedness is found in the book of
Exodus. Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel leave the land of
Egypt as God had commanded. Fifteen times in Exodus, the Scriptures
mention Pharaoh’s heart being hardened. This is the only explanation to
Pharaoh’s persistence in resisting God, when it was so evident he was
no match for Him. A hardened heart dulls a person’s ability to perceive
and understand. It is the equivalent of spiritual retardation.
<p>
In Mark 8:17, Jesus spoke to His disciples about the characteristics of
a hard heart:
<br>
<b><i>And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye
have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your
heart yet hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye
not? and do ye not remember?</i></b> (Mark 8:17-18).
<p>
In these verses, Jesus gave us symptoms that are descriptive of a hard
heart: (1) unable to perceive, (2) unable to understand, (3) unable to
see, (4) unable to hear, and (5) unable to remember. These are all
speaking of inabilities in the spiritual realm.
<p>
A hard heart is characterized by an inability to perceive spiritually.
And when spiritual things are perceived, a hard heart will keep a
person from understanding the few things they can perceive. They might
see what the Lord is trying to show them, but they can’t get a hold of
it in a way that they can apply it to their life.
<p>
When people are hardhearted toward God, it’s like they are spiritually
blind and deaf—they just can’t see spiritual truth or hear the Lord
speak to them. And they can’t remember. Not remembering is a major
indication of the condition of their hearts.
<p>
People often tell me that they just don’t have the ability to remember
Scripture the way I do. They imply that I must have a photographic
memory. But these same people can tell me who won the Super Bowl last
year or last decade, the Major League batting averages of all the
famous baseball players, or the names of all the actors in a movie.
<p>
I’ve watched Super Bowl games, but I don’t remember the details. It’s
not because my mind doesn’t work; it’s just a matter of the heart. I
remember Scripture because that’s where my heart is. I don’t remember
sports or entertainment trivia, because my heart isn’t into that. It’s
all a matter of the heart.
<p>
Here are some of the major things I’ve learned that determine the
sensitivity of your heart. First, whatever you consider, your heart
becomes softened toward. Conversely, whatever you fail to consider,
your heart becomes hardened to. That’s what Mark 6:52 reveals.
<p>
Again, that verse says,
<br>
<b><i>For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was
hardened.</i></b>
<p>
The word consider means <b><i>to study, ponder, deliberate, examine, or
think upon.</i></b> The scriptural term that would relate to <b><i>consider</i></b> would
be the word <b><i>meditate.</i></b> Or we could substitute the word <b><i>focus</i></b> for
<b><i>consider.</i></b> So the disciples’ hearts were hard, since they didn’t
<b><i>focus</i></b> on the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000.
<p>
It wasn’t sin that caused the disciples’ hearts to be hard—it was their
focus on things other than the miracle Jesus had just performed. They
weren’t looking at pornographic magazines nor were in strife or
anything; they were occupied with trying to save their lives in the
midst of the storm. That wasn’t sin.
<p>
If you took me sailing, I would want you to have some carnal knowledge
about sailing. If I ride with you in a car, I don’t want you to drive
by faith; I want you to have your eyes open and your brain working.
That’s not wrong.
<p>
But, if we get into a situation where our carnal knowledge and
abilities won’t save our lives, I would like you to be able to go
beyond the natural and draw on the ability of the supernatural. We
can’t be limited to the natural realm.
<p>
This is what was wrong with the disciples. They had just witnessed
Jesus taking five small loaves of bread and two small fish, and feeding
an entire multitude of at least
<p>
15,000 people. What an awesome miracle! If they had kept their minds
stayed on that miracle, they wouldn’t have been shocked or surprised to
see Jesus walking on the water.
<p>
And notice that Mark 6:45 makes special mention of the fact that Jesus
<b><i>constrained</i></b> His disciples to get into the boat and go to the other
side. That means He had to compel them. They didn’t want to go, but
Jesus made them do it. Therefore, they didn’t get into this situation
because of some mistake on their part; they were under direct orders
from the Master. That means Jesus was responsible for what happened to
them.
<p>
If they had been thinking spiritually instead of naturally, they would
have known that Jesus would take care of them. Instead of being
surprised to see Jesus walking on the water, they would have expected
it.
<p>
Likewise, if we were not so dominated by considering the natural, we
would not be surprised by the supernatural. We should expect to see the
miraculous power of God manifest in our lives all the time. But the
truth is, our hearts have become hardened toward God and His
supernatural power because of our failure to stay focused on spiritual
things.
<p>
One of the benefits of understanding what causes hardheartedness is
that you can reverse this process and use it to become hardened against
the devil. That is absolutely true. You have the power to determine
what your heart accepts or rejects.
<p>
-- Andrew Wommack<br>
Capitalization of keywords by Randy Lucas