The Hardened Heart

                    "But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his
                            heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said." 
                                                        ~Genesis 8:15


It's been an exciting journey for me to once again read through the Bible and have been reading through the book of Exodus at this time. Of course, in the earlier chapters of Exodus, we read through the story of Moses, Pharaoh, the ten plagues, the freeing for the children of Israel, and the parting of the Red Sea. But this time, I'd like to discuss Pharaoh's hardened heart and the hardened hearts in today's world.

First, Pharaoh would see the plague and then plead for Moses to take away plague. He'd promise to free the Israelite children; but each time, he would change his mind to keep them enslaved. Plague after plague terrorized the nation of Egypt, and each time there was relief from the plague, Pharaoh's heart became hardened. When we read the story, we may be amazed at Pharaoh's stubbornness. I mean, to see things from rivers turning into blood to locust destroying the crops from the land being covered with frogs to witnessing the first born of every Egyptian and beast killed. If we had been the Egyptian people, we might have tried to overthrow the crazy Pharaoh and let God's people go to worship Him before the rest of us were literally destroyed. Instead, in this time and now, we can learn from Pharaoh's mistake and avoid the tragic consequences.      

So what lesson can we learn from Pharaoh's mistake?


How often are we like Pharaoh? We promise God that we will serve Him if only He would take our pain and difficulties away, just to turn back to doing the things we had been involved in before the struggles started. We are no better than Pharaoh if we are "Foxhole Christians", we see that the problems we're facing aren't going away so we promise to obey Him...that is until the problem is gone. Then we have the tendency to turn back to the activities that are not God-focused.


The first plague, the water turning into blood, should have been enough to convince Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go, right? The water was literally undrinkable, the source that keeps the living alive is now contaminated and stinks throughout the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh promises to free the people if Moses will intercede. The second plague brings frogs into the land and they can be found in the entire land of Egypt. They are jumping into the houses, in the "kneading bowls" (Exodus 8:3), into the beds, into the kitchens... they're everywhere! Pharaoh calls for Moses and pleads him to intercede and then the children of Israel may go worship God. Well, we know he didn't keep his word. So God sent lice, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. Each time Pharaoh made a promise and later broke it. It became a vicious cycle! And then the ultimate plague struck the land. You could say it was the 'one that did it'. Not only was Pharaoh's son killed, but the firstborn child of every Egyptian servant and animal died that night as well. Only were the children of Israel saved from the deaths and plagues.

It's a clear sign that God protects His people as He promised He would. God is with you, too, in whatever you're going through. He heard the cries of the Israelites and He rescued them from their great oppression. God also hears your cries and He listens. But get this: He knows that you need to experience difficulties. Not because He doesn't care about you. But if you never went through trials, you wouldn't grow Spiritually and you wouldn't grow closer to Him. It's in the pains of this life that make us rely more and more on our dear Savior.


"But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had spoken to Moses". (Exodus 9:12)


Until the sixth plague--the boils--Pharaoh was hardening his own heart. As a documentary by Dr. Charles Stanley sums it up this way: "To this point in the story, Pharaoh had hardened his own heart. But now, God hardens his heart. Willful disobedience can reach a point of no return." If we continually harden our hearts, it becomes a habit we can't break on our own strength. Pharaoh hardened his heart so many times that it finally resulted in his death and the death of his armies. It certainly does have serious consequences, friends. Ask the Lord to remove the stubborn stone around your tender heart to break off and completely trust in God's plan.  


"But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." (Exodus 9:16)

We don't always understand the circumstances that God lets us go through or why He allows adversaries to stand in our way to give us grief like Pharaoh did to Moses and the people of Israel. But God is our powerful God and He sometimes raises up even our enemies in order to show the world His power. But He doesn't always just demonstrate His might to the unsaved, but He does so to remind His people that He is still in control. Sometimes because we can't see God, we can forget He is there and that He is still mighty. God gives us those reminders and we can give thanks to Him by remaining loyal to Him and having a "healthy heart".

In conclusion, we may come across many politicians, parents, friends, co-workers, and even preachers who have hardened their hearts to God and His Word. We need hearts that remain tender to the nudging God gives us when He is trying to tell us to listen. God listens to us, let's listen to Him.


Anna

The Listening Servant

As I was thinking what I should write about this week, the Lord led me to turn the page in my Mom's devotional book and the title was "Your Servant Is Listening". I thought to myself, Yeah, but where could I go with that for a post? Everyone knows that we should listen to the Lord.  And then I opened up my Mom's NKJV Bible and it turned to Jeremiah 22:21, which says the following, "I spoke to you in your prosperity, But you said, 'I will not hear.' This has been your manner from your youth". So to make this short, I believe God led me to these references to not only encourage you in your walk, but as a reminder to me personally.

So many times (and especially lately), I feel I know what's best for me. I get so independent in my thinking and I don't want to listen to the Lord. He might want me to go in a direction (or away from the one I'm going), and I'd rather resist His counsel and keep doing what I think is best for me. I think every Christian deals with this at some point in their relationship with the Lord. We think our own decisions will turn out alright or we leave God behind most of the time, forgetting to ask Him for an answer. Or we might ask the Lord, but with our own "clocks" ticking away, demanding immediate answers, we jump ahead instead of waiting on the Lord for His answer. And it certainly doesn't help when we live in a secular world where everything is rushed and if you don't grab the chance now, it'll be too late tomorrow. As humans, we feel the decisions we need to make have to be "today or never"; however, we easily forget that the Lord has perfect timing. His time schedule is never "behind" or "runs fast". Yes, my discussion so far has dealt a lot with waiting on the Lord, rather than listening to Him. But you know, they both go hand in hand.

"The realization of our need to listen to the Lord means we are willing to wait for His answer."

So when does God speak to us? When we submit to Him and say "Lord, okay, You know I really want to do this, but I'm not going to move until I hear from You". And how does God speak to us? He speaks to us through His Word. Like I mentioned earlier, God led me to the Jeremiah reference where He gently reminded me to "not move until He speaks". For example, I'm really looking to buy a handheld gun for protection. Though I really think this is the smart thing to do, I need to wait on the Lord. Whether the decision is as small as this or something bigger like marriage, God wants us to "consult" with Him and wait on Him to provide us with His perfect answer. So, we see that He speaks to us through His Word. He also speaks to us through other people, those who counsel us. People like our pastors, youth leaders, parents, other family members, and Christian friends. Those around us who God is speaking through to advise us. He also speaks to us through His Spirit, our "Conscience". You probably know exactly what I'm talking about. That Voice inside of you that says it's wrong to go and do something you will later regret. And quite frankly, He's right every time. In short, God has many modes of communication that He uses to reach us.

But God gives a warning to people who stray away and listen to the counsel of fools. In Proverbs 1:28-32.....

"Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently, but they will not find Me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them."

And then in Proverbs 1:33, God gently tells us what will happen when His children come to Him and listen to His voice. "But whoever listens to Me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil."

How intelligent it is to listen to the Lord! He knows what is best for you. He cares for your life. He has created you. And when we take the time to listen to the Creator of the earth, there is nothing that will stop Him from talking to you. When you listen for Him to answer you, nothing in heaven or earth can keep Him away.

Proverbs 1:5: "A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel."

Proverbs 1:7: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."


"So when God speaks to you, listen attentively and prepare to submit to whatever He tells you. Obedience pleases your heavenly Father and He desires to bless you for listening well." ~Charles Stanley, life lessons NKJV, pg. 886)


Blessings,
Anna