Day 165, Year 1

Softening Your Heart Toward God

“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?” (Job 9:4 NKJV)

Across various religious traditions, many believe that God or gods are almighty. In contrast, the gentleness with which Jesus knocks at the doors of people’s hearts is truly beyond imagination, and might have caused many to overlook. Perhaps, by gently knocking at the doors of people’s hearts, He also wants us to respond and submit to Him with a similar soft heart. Certain Christians believe that if the Lord’s knocking sounds subtle and people therefore ignore Him, it might not be considered a grave sin. This viewpoint seems reasonable at first glance, but it proves to be wrong after pondering. For if God were to call people to believe in Jesus with a thunderous force, who would resist and disobey Him? It can hardly find such a person. So, Jesus can only continue to gently knock on the doors of people’s hearts within a limited period of time. After all, those who constantly disregard His voice, no matter the reason, are doomed to eternal punishment.

Jesus’ gentleness seems to guide our hearts to approach Him with gentleness and a willingness to yield. After all, “Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?” Nobody. There could be several reasons for a hardened heart. First, as mentioned yesterday, when people set up idols in their hearts, the evil spirits within could harden their hearts toward God. Moreover, those who are accustomed to idolatry or only pursue superficial pleasures also have hard hearts towards Him. But this verse calls us to cease our resistance against God and instead, to rely on His wisdom and power to solve our and others’ problems.

Some might think, “My heart is hard, but I don’t want it to be. My mind knows I should submit to God, but my heart is unwilling.” What then could be done? Today’s verse states that “God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.” Or God has wisdom and great power in Himself. In my understanding, this means that He can change a hardened heart and remove our unwillingness from within. As long as we persistently and sincerely seek His help to resolve our internal problems, those issues can certainly be resolved. Take the previous example as a case in point: if someone has set up idols in their hearts, yet fails to drive them out on their own, the mighty God can forgive their transgressions and completely expel the idols from within one by one. After that, He can also soften our hearts and make us more and more sensitive to His voice, so that we are willing to respond to Him with obedience. Indeed, this is impossible for humans, but possible with God.

Reflection questions:

1) Have you ever hardened your heart against God and therefore not prospered? If so, what are you going to do next?

2) Do you agree that God’s wisdom and power could resolve the problems that you cannot resolve on your own, as long as this aligns with His will? Why?