A SOFTENED HEART

One of a Christian’s goals is to have a heart that is sensitive to God's voice, His desires, His requirements, to what He teaches and His directions, and especially to His plans for each of us. Unfortunately, we are not always sensitive, and it is possible that in certain areas of our lives, we may become insensitive or even hardened.
 
We can be zealous for the Lord and yet be amazed when God does something for us that we never thought He would do. You may have thought that only a person who lives in sin, who has nothing to do with God, and does not love Jesus, could have a hardened heart. And indeed, we have the example of Pharaoh of Egypt while keeping the people of Israel in slavery. Most of us know about the ten plagues that were struck on the Egyptians, because Pharaoh would not let the people go. The plagues that God sent upon the Egyptians, were the result of Pharaoh’s hardened heart, and God used the situation to show His power and be recognized by the Egyptians and set His people free from Egyptian bondage to be able to leave and worship their God.
 
We often fail to understand that a hardened heart is the result of profoundly not knowing the truth of God's Word. The heart loses its sensitivity when we do not understand how wonderful God is, how deeply He works in our lives, and how great and unlimited His power is to help, transform, grow, and strengthen us.
 
On the other hand, the sensitive heart rejoices in the presence of the Lord, hears clearly and quickly what the Lord has to say, and is ready to respond obediently to whatever God asks of it.
 
In chapter 6 of the Gospel of Mark, we read about the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish that fed five thousand men, plus women and children. The Lord Jesus looked up to heaven, prayed, blessed, and broke the loaves and fish, put it all in baskets for the disciples to distribute to the hungry multitude. And not only was there enough for each person, but they were all satisfied “and they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish” (Mark 6:43). It was an extraordinary miracle, and God does not waste anything. The Lord wanted these crumbs to be gathered precisely to demonstrate His power and show how great this miracle was. The miracle of multiplication took place before the eyes of the disciples, because from those baskets each disciple had to feed hundreds of people (each one had to feed at least 500, if there were only a thousand women and children in addition to the men), and each disciple had only one basket that he carried in his arms. There must have been a great multiplication that took place after Jesus divided the 5 loaves and 2 fish into the first baskets and filled them, and it had to be that the Lord continued to multiply the food as the disciples kept distributing it to the people, because there was food enough for everyone to eat and be full. Afterward, as the Lord had them pick up the leftovers, the original baskets were still full!
 
Later when the apostle Mark relates the miracle of Jesus walking on the sea, the Holy Spirit led him to write that the disciples did not understand the miracle of the loaves, because their hearts were hardened.

• Mark 6:51-52 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

 
The disciples did not understand the miracle of Jesus and even Peter walking on the sea (Matthew 14:29). They struggled for hours with the strong wind that was against them and the waves that filled their boat with water, and when Jesus came to them walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and were afraid. Peter had the courage to get out of the boat and walk with Jesus on the water, but it was enough for him to realize what he was doing to start sinking. However, because he reacted correctly and cried out to Jesus, the Lord saved him immediately! And from the apostle John's account we learn something extraordinary:

• John 6:20-21 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

 
It was enough for Jesus to get into the boat for the disciples' torment to end. Through their effort in fighting the wind and waves they covered only half the distance in many hours, but when Jesus joined them, they immediately arrived at their destination! This is a wonderful lesson for all of us!
 
However, even after the second multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord told the disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, the disciples did not understand the spiritual meaning of the warning and thought that it referred to the fact that they had forgotten to buy bread. Jesus was actually showing them that their hearts were hardened:

• Matthew 16:9-10 “Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?”

 
It took several warnings from the Lord for the disciples to understand the meaning of the Lord's words. When they reviewed the miracles of the multiplication of the loaves in their minds, their hearts began to be more sensitive to understanding the Lord's messages and the miracles He could perform.
 
To become sensitive to the works of the Holy Spirit, we need to meditate on the miracles performed by the Lord and ask Him to reveal His power to us. By doing so, the Word we read becomes our personal truth, alive and working in us, which helps us become more and more like our Lord. To benefit from all the blessings that the heavenly Father has prepared for us, we must be one with Him, seek Him with all our hearts and desire to know Him more. How could we have fellowship with someone we do not know? Fellowship is bilateral, we give and receive, and have something in common. According to “Strong’s Lexicon,” the original Greek word frequently translated “fellowship” is “koinonia” which “refers to the deep, intimate fellowship and communal participation among believers, as well as their shared relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It encompasses the idea of sharing in spiritual blessings, mutual support, and active partnership in the faith.” 
 
This connection, communion, and fellowship in which we praise the Lord, seek to know Him more intimately, and share with Him our most intimate feelings, desires, anxieties, burdens, traumas, disappointments, frustrations, offenses, resentments, and all that concern us, transforms our hearts. Whether we have this fellowship through the study of Scripture, through praise and worship, or through prayer and conversation, the result will be a sensitive, malleable heart that the Lord can mold to be pleasing to Him and for our greatest good.
 
Carmen Pușcaș