Hard Hearted

Most of know the story of Jesus taking the lunch of a small boy – 5 small loaves or buns and 2 small fish – and using them to feed thousands of people. 

Sadly over the next few hours the disciples quickly forgot the amazing things Jesus had done and got tangled up in doubt and fear when trouble arose.

The sad thing is that, we often do the same thing, don’t we?  We pray. God acts on our behalf.  Things are fine.  We go on our merry way until we bump into the next problem and then …. We find ourselves in mental and emotional turmoil wondering where God is. 

Truth is, God is close.  God is watching us just as He was with the disciples.  Listen to this comforting bit of the story.

After saying goodbye to them, he [Jesus] went to the mountain to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. He saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.

Mark 6:46-48

And He didn’t just passively watch them struggle, wondering why they hadn’t yet learned how to have enough trust in Him.  Jesus came to them and took action. He told them to not be afraid and then He stilled the storm.

But then there’s a verse that catches my attention and causes me to pray and I hope it does for you too.

They were completely astonished, because they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. 

Mark 6:45-52

They didn’t understand because their hearts were hard.  I wonder how hard our hearts are and how much or God’s goodness we fail to understand because of it? 

Lord Jesus, we’re just like those disciples. We forget Your love for us, Your watching over us, Your power to act quickly on our behalf.  Our hearts are hardened by our own self-centered assessment of what’s going on around us.    

Would you make Your close and powerful presence real in our hearts and minds again today. We don’t want hard hearts that blame You for abandoning us when You’ve done the exact opposite.   Help us to remember who You are, what You do, and view our present circumstances with that perspective.  Amen 

Well, with the writer of the Psalms we can joyfully say today: 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

 Psalm 73:26