What should we do about it?
We have seen that even Christian believers can be dull of heart and blind to God’s purposes. So how can we soften our hearts and become spiritually more alert?
We can see that, when His disciples were slow to comprehend what He was saying, Jesus asked them questions to get them thinking about what they had seen and heard.
Mark 8:17-21 “But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, ‘Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?
- Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
- When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?’
They said to Him, ‘Twelve.’
- ‘Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?’
And they said, ‘Seven.’
- So He said to them, ‘How is it you do not understand?’”
Jesus was pointing out that although the disciples had seen Jesus do amazing miracles they had not really considered why, or how, He was doing those things. They had heard His teaching but had not thought deeply about its implications for their lives. Rather than meditating on what they had seen and heard, they quickly turned their gaze back to worldly concerns. They did not fully believe in the all-sufficiency of Christ or the authority He had delegated to them. Their hearts were spiritually dull because their thinking was still unspiritual.
Romans 1:21 tells us that the Gentiles “became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” because, “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful”. They did not choose to focus on God and His goodness towards them and so their hearts became hard towards Him. Similarly, we find that the Jews became hard-hearted because they “despise(d) the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering” (Romans 2:4-5).
It is clear that where we look will determine the condition of our heart. What we focus on is what will dominate our thinking.
Romans 8:5-8 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. [6] For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. [7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. [8] So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Mary, the mother of Jesus is a great example of what it takes to cultivate a soft heart. When the angel Gabriel came to her with the astonishing news that she would become the virgin mother of God’s own Son she was quick to accept it.
Luke 1:38 “Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.’”
(What a contrast with Zechariah who was struck dumb because he did not believe Gabriel’s announcement of his son’s conception – Luke 1:20.)
I believe Mary’s sensitivity to spiritual things came from her habit of holding on to things she saw God do and considering them deeply. Luke 2:19 tells us that, when the shepherds came to visit the baby Jesus and told His parents about the message the angel had given them, “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” We see again in Luke 2:51 that when she and Joseph discovered the 12-year old Jesus debating with the Jewish leaders in he temple, “His mother kept all these things in her heart.”
Proverbs 4:20-23 says, “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. [21] Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; [22] For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. [23] Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
Keeping hold of God’s word, meditating on it, picturing it in our imagination and letting it change our thinking and expectations will help to keep our hearts full of faith in God. When our minds are renewed to think like He does we will be quick to hear His voice and see what He is doing.
Hebrews 3:12-13 (TPT) “So search your hearts every day, my brothers and sisters, and make sure that none of you has evil or unbelief hiding within you. For it will lead you astray, and make you unresponsive to the living God. [13] This is the time to encourage each other to never be stubborn or hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
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