For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...” Psalm 95:7-8
When we think of a hard heart, we might initially get visions of criminals or terrorists, people who are belligerent and oblivious to the needs of others. But hard hearts happen to Christians too.
Think about it. Have you ever experienced a time where you felt unresponsive to God’s Word? You read your Bible, but it just seems like words on a page because you aren’t getting anything out of it. Maybe you even find yourself ignoring your Bible and neglecting your prayer time altogether. Your heart is hard, and you’ve forgotten Christ’s sacrifice to purchase you.
Or maybe you go to church, you sit, stand, and even sing at all the appropriate times, but you are not engaged at all; your mind is a million miles away. You think you've heard it all before. You believe the gospel message is for salvation but not relevant to your daily life. You hide or minimize your sins while judging others harshly, holding onto bitterness, nursing grudges, lashing out in anger and refusing to forgive. Your heart is hard; you’ve forgotten the great debt of sin that Christ paid off for you with His death on the cross.
Or perhaps temptation comes to you, but instead of taking the way out that God provides through Jesus' death and resurrection, you shut your ears to the voice of the Spirit. You turn from the cross of Christ and choose to go your own way, indulging the cravings of your flesh as if you were alive to sin and dead to God. You think you deserve a treat. You are frustrated with God, thinking He isn't meeting your needs. You covet what others have and complain about what you don't have. Unbelief has hardened your heart.
But what are we to do when we realize that our heart is hard? Is there a remedy for this dreadful malady? Yes! Look to Jesus! The gospel, the great news of the atoning death and victorious resurrection of Jesus, is the only softening agent for a hard heart.
Much as bread goes stale and hardens when it is left out and unprotected, if we do not daily cover our hearts and protect our minds with the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross, sin will increase in our lives, and our hearts will grow hard. But if we come to Jesus and wash in the blood of His new covenant, then our hearts will be softened anew.
When we look to Jesus crucified, He opens our eyes and reveals Himself to us in His Word. As we hear again, the good news of our forgiveness that flows to us from Calvary, our ears become receptive to the voice of the Spirit. As we consider the humility of Christ, the Lamb of God, dying our death, our minds are renewed and transformed by Christ. As we behold the empty tomb of Jesus, unbelief is banished, and the joy of our salvation is restored (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Luke 7:22, Romans 12:2, Hebrews 2:9, Hebrews 12:1-3).