A Hardened Heart

Thank you for your prayers for Victoria. She is doing much better today!

What do you think of when someone says to you that so and so has a hardened heart? Instantly I think of someone who is hardened to the Word of God. We had this discussion today in devotions at the office and it was very thought provoking.


Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood9d about the loaves, their hearts were hardened Mark 6:50-52.


Now the disciples had just experienced a miracle when Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. They not only experienced the miracle but were actually participants because they served the food that God had multiplied to this massive crowd of people. Afterwards the Bible says that the disciples picked up twelve basketful's of broken pieces of bread and fish. WOW! The scripture says that immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida while he dismissed the crowd.


As the disciples are in the boat in the middle of the lake Jesus approaches them and scares them to death! They were terrified because they thought he was a ghost. These are the twelve men who were with Jesus all the time. The men who were the closest to him experiencing miracle after miracle but it appears they just didn't get it.


The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. "Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread." Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don't you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketful's of pieces did you pick up?" Mark 8: 19.


These men walked with Jesus and apparently there were times when they seemed to forget what he had done. Aren't we like that as well? God performs incredible miracles in our lives but many times we tend to forget what he has done when another storm comes pounding at our door. Does having a hardened heart in these scriptures mean lack of faith? Do we only exhibit a tremendous amount of faith when God performs the miracle? Do we have eyes but cannot see? Do we have ears but cannot hear?


The disciples had not only seen one recent miracle when Jesus fed the five thousand but now he had just fed another four thousand and these men appeared to have a lack of faith.


Many times I believe in my own life that I am distracted by the problem in my own life at that particular moment and I fail to remember all the times God has taken care of me. God is able in any situation but often we tend to act just like the disciples. We tend to demonstrate hardened hearts of unbelief or exhibit a lack of faith when miracles do occur around us.


Blessings!