Soft heart

This isn't going to be a long preachy blog, but I wanted to share something from a book I'm doing. It's called, "Letting God Change You From the Inside Out," by Bill Hybels. In the first chapter, A New Heart, Bill wrote a side note about having a hard heart that really struck me. He writes,

"Hearts get hard when we habitually say no to God. The very first time you say no to God a little layer forms around your heart. The second time another layer goes around your heart. The third time another layer forms, and on and on it goes. A person who ends up saying no to God for a lifetime ends up with a heart encased by steel. As a person's heart grows hard, two things begin to happen. First the hardness drives them farther away from God. There is no openness, no sensitivity to spiritual things, no desire to hear God speak... Second, when a heart grows hard, there is a lack of sensitivity toward others. Selfishness sets in a generosity is driven away... True love in relationships and care for others is no longer a possibility for people with hearts lined with steel."

Hybels goes on to say that to cure a hard heart, we must admit our sin, let God forgive us and give us a new heart. He uses the apostle Paul as an example of a formerly hard-hearted person (Saul who murdered Christians) who eventually allowed God to move in his life, giving him a soft heart toward others.

I think this chapter helped me to realize how crucial those moments of decision are. When you're standing there and you know God wants you to do one thing, but you want to do something different, the consequences are farther-reaching than that one moment. Deciding against what God wants you to do will add a layer around your heart, between you and God.