This morning while reading more about the steadily increasing horrific acts that stem from the fear and hatred that surrounds us these days, and the media’s zeal for sensationalizing and capitalizing on it, I realized how we’re slowly becoming desensitized to it. Yes, it’s natural to do so; for those who care about righteousness, our spirits can only take so much of being inundated like a flood by the pain, suffering, evils, corruption, and wrongs we’re exposed to every day. It can be overwhelming.
But that natural response can be dangerous too, for the desensitizing process can make us calloused and hard in our attitude and the suffering of others. And we slowly become “hard-hearted.”
God designed callouses to form on our hands to help toughen them up against hard labor… but he never intended for us to allow them to form on our hearts, to help protect ourselves against the hardness of life. Calloused hands can look pretty ugly yet serve a good purpose. But not the heart.
If we could visibly see a calloused heart it would look even uglier and serve no good purpose either! In fact, calloused, hardened hearts rob us and others of being able to see and enjoy the good that happen around us too… leaving us struggling with thoughts of despair and hopelessness.
But life doesn’t have to be that way. God is in the business of SOFTENIG hearts and helping us keep them that way in spit of the flood of evil, troubles and fear that surrounds us, threatening our well-being.
That’s why Jesus came… to show us the way to live above the madness of this world.
We just need to choose to follow HIS plan for living life, and not get caught up in the world’s mistaken way to survive it. Thankfully He also oversaw the production of the greatest Handbook ever written to help us know how to follow Him and His plan. It’s called the Bible.
Read it. Apply it. Live it. It's just what our heart and souls need!
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6