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Is it just me, or is 2025 flying by? We are already to the end of April, and in just a few weeks school will be out for summer. Through the first part of this year I’ve seen God move in my life and in the world in general. At those times it seems your heart is alive, moving forward with Christ’s agenda like a fire dancing in the wind. However, we also have times when our hearts are still, stagnant, somewhat comatose, if you will.
I am involved in a men’s Bible study currently going through the book of Hebrews. A couple of weeks ago we were in Hebrews chapter three and this came up. In verse eight it says, “Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness.” The question was posed, “Do we ever harden our hearts?”
My son-in-law, who does this Bible study with me, answered that most often for believers, our hardening is somewhat of a mini-hardening. Impressive thoughts from a young man who actually has his own blog now. It is so worth the read. Look for it at peterscameron27.wixsite.com. You won’t be disappointed.
As I thought about the concept of mini-hardening, my mind was pulled to concrete. Today, spraying concrete is one of the most popular ways to apply it. It’s using high pressurized air to spray the concrete where it is needed. Isn’t this what Satan is trying to do to us daily? He wants nothing more than to “spray some concrete” into the hearts of believers. He may not be able to lay a full driveway, but if he can get that concrete down, that mini-hardening may soon take effect.
That spray often looks something like a diagnosis that isn’t what you wanted to hear. A financial burden that seemed to hit you out of nowhere. That person who you go to church with every Sunday turns out to be such a hypocrite. Maybe you just wake up and don’t feel like talking to God or reading His word. Maybe you’re feeling dark and don’t want anything to do with the ultimate source of light. I don’t know about you, but all of the above have allowed Satan to “spray a little concrete” into my heart.
The key for us as believers is to not let that concrete set. Once concrete sets, it becomes very hard to break up. You need a jackhammer most often to do it effectively. For most of us, that mini-hardening is a doorway to jackhammer land. We can stay trapped in the cement because we feel like we just can’t break through to God again.
Well, nothing could be further from the truth. This past Sunday we started a new series at church called Second Chances. As I sat there, I thought about all of the second chances we see in scripture. A guy who denied Jesus three times. Another guy who put his lust for a woman ahead of God. A woman who lived a life of debauchery. A guy who told God “no” and then tried to run from Him. In all of these cases, God broke through the concrete and used those broken pieces of cement to His glory.
Because of His abundance of grace that He showers upon us, He is not just the God of second chances, but of third, and fourth, and fifth…we keep screwing up, and He never stops reaching out to pull us from the rubble of our hearts as the hardening disintegrates under His jackhammer, LOVE.
I know that I’ve let Satan spray his concrete many times before through my diagnosis of MS. Just the other day, I was in a dark place and didn’t want the Lord there with me. Like too many other times in my life, that concrete was trying to set. But each time God has stayed true to me. He waited ‘til I was ready to break through the cement that was forming in my heart and then He used the broken pieces as I said yes to Him and no to the destructive firming of my soul. It is truly remarkable what Jesus can build with the broken pieces of your heart.
I know that sometimes we don’t even see the hardening coming. It just hits us, forgive the cliche, like a ton of bricks. However, we will eventually come to a place where we know a patio is forming in our heart. John O’Leary, a survivor of a horrific fire that left him near death at age nine – look up his story if you don’t know it – has said, “Christ looks at us, tells us to take the hand of God, walk the journey with Him, and fight like you’ve never fought before.” When you realize that your heart is going through a hardening, whether it be mini or big, come back to this quote. Take God by the hand and fight like crazy. He will break through.
I know that Satan is still going to be around with his high-pressurized air trying to blow cement into my heart, but I also know that God’s grace will break through. I trust Him to be the demolition crew to break up whatever concrete structure is forming in my heart. I hope you will as well. Until next month…
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