When Hearts Go Hard (Day 2)
When Hearts Go Hard
"You know what makes divorce necessary? Hard hearts."
Matthew 19:8 (ESV)
"He said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.'"
Devotional Thought
Every farmer knows that soil can become so hard that even the best seed can't take root. What starts as soft, fertile ground gradually hardens because of neglect, weather, and time. The same thing happens to our hearts, and Jesus knew exactly why the Pharisees needed those divorce certificates.
When the Pharisees pushed Jesus about divorce, He didn't give them more rules. He pointed to the real problem: "because of your hardness of heart." Hard hearts don't happen overnight. They develop slowly, just like soil that's been walked on too many times or left unwatered too long.
Think about what Jesus was really saying. If your heart wasn't hard, you wouldn't seek attention elsewhere when your spouse disappoints you. If your heart wasn't hard, you wouldn't give up so easily when love requires effort. If your heart wasn't hard, you wouldn't retaliate with cold shoulders, cold meals, and cold conversations when things get difficult.
Hard hearts stop listening. They stop trying. They stop forgiving small things before they become big things. And here's what's incredible: this applies to every relationship, not just marriage. Hard hearts make everything harder because they stop the flow of grace that makes love possible.
So God gives us this urgent command: "Guard your heart with all vigilance." Why? Because from it flow the springs of life. Just like a farmer protects his soil from becoming hard-packed, we must protect our hearts from becoming hard-hearted.
Right now, where is your heart growing hard? What relationship has become more about protecting yourself than loving well? What area of your life has developed that crusty layer that keeps good things from growing?
The good news is that hard ground can be broken up. Farmers know how to restore soil, and God knows how to restore hearts. But it starts with recognizing the hardness and refusing to let it remain.
When the Pharisees pushed Jesus about divorce, He didn't give them more rules. He pointed to the real problem: "because of your hardness of heart." Hard hearts don't happen overnight. They develop slowly, just like soil that's been walked on too many times or left unwatered too long.
Think about what Jesus was really saying. If your heart wasn't hard, you wouldn't seek attention elsewhere when your spouse disappoints you. If your heart wasn't hard, you wouldn't give up so easily when love requires effort. If your heart wasn't hard, you wouldn't retaliate with cold shoulders, cold meals, and cold conversations when things get difficult.
Hard hearts stop listening. They stop trying. They stop forgiving small things before they become big things. And here's what's incredible: this applies to every relationship, not just marriage. Hard hearts make everything harder because they stop the flow of grace that makes love possible.
So God gives us this urgent command: "Guard your heart with all vigilance." Why? Because from it flow the springs of life. Just like a farmer protects his soil from becoming hard-packed, we must protect our hearts from becoming hard-hearted.
Right now, where is your heart growing hard? What relationship has become more about protecting yourself than loving well? What area of your life has developed that crusty layer that keeps good things from growing?
The good news is that hard ground can be broken up. Farmers know how to restore soil, and God knows how to restore hearts. But it starts with recognizing the hardness and refusing to let it remain.
Application Questions
- In what relationship or area of your life do you notice your heart becoming harder rather than softer?
- What specific behaviors or attitudes in your life indicate that you might be "guarding yourself" instead of "guarding your heart for love"?
- When you think about the "springs of life" flowing from your heart, what would others say they're receiving from you right now?
Today's Challenge
Identify one area where your heart has grown hard and take one specific action to soften it. This might mean having a difficult conversation, extending forgiveness, or simply choosing to listen instead of defend.
Tomorrow: Explore the difference between treating God like a business partner versus a beloved and why that distinction changes everything about how we approach Him.
Today's Prayer
Lord Jesus, I confess that there are areas of my heart that have grown hard. I've protected myself instead of protecting my ability to love. Break up the hard ground in my heart and make it soft again. Help me guard my heart not from love, but for love. Show me where I've let bitterness, fear, or selfishness create barriers to the springs of life You want to flow through me. In Your name, Amen.
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