Is Your Heart Hard ?

As we continue to deal with the issue of unbelief, it is important to leave no stone unturned as we
identify how unbelief enters our minds. A hardened heart is one of those avenues. A persons heart
hardens when they do not consider the Word of God over their circumstances. When we give
more attention to what is going on in the natural realm than we do the Word of God, it strengthens
unbelief and hardens our hearts against the promises of God. We must continually be mindful of
the condition of our hearts and be sure that we are not entertaining thoughts that contradict our
faith.
It is important to always remind yourself that when things dont seem to be manifesting, it is not
because you do not have enough faith. Galatians 2:20 says that we live by the faith of the Son of
God. When you received Christ you received the faith necessary to live a successful Christian life.
In fact, you possess the very faith of Jesus! Because of this, there is no need for you to try and get
more faith. Faith can be developed to greater levels the more you meditate and hear the Word of
God being preached, but you have the core faith to access everything the kingdom of God has to
offer. The problem is unbelief.
The presence of unbelief will always short-circuit faith. In fact, you can indeed have faith and
unbelief present at the same time. The problem is that when unbelief if present, your faith wont
work. Unbelief can come through ignorance of the Word, wrong teaching from the Word, or paying
attention to the natural circumstances in your midst. Regardless of how it comes, it is designed to
stop your faith from working. A hardened heart also causes unbelief, and blocks you from being
able to receive all that God has for you.
It is critical to recognize when unbelief if present in your life and when it is rearing its ugly head in
the process of you believing God for something from the Word. As a Christian who is trying to
access all the benefits of grace, you must only believe the Word. You literally cannot have any
unbelief. The presence of faith and unbelief renders you double-minded, which will cause you to
not receive anything from God (James 1:8). You can identify if you are being double-minded if you
are full of worry, care, or fear regarding whether the promises of God will come to pass in your life.
The truth is that the problem many Believers deal with is a hardened heart.
There is a whole generation of Christians who have hardened hearts. Mark 6:35-52 gives the
account of two instances where the disciples encountered circumstances that looked hopeless,
the first being the need to feed multitudes of people with not enough food available. Jesus did a
miracle that enabled the whole crowd to be fed. The next instance was when Jesus walked on the
sea while the disciples were in their boat, struggling against fierce winds. They had just witnessed
Jesus feed the multitudes with minimal resources available and yet they were sore amazed
when they witnessed Him calm the storm. The Bible says they did not consider the miracle of the
loaves because their hearts were hardened.
To consider something is to meditate, ponder, and think about it with extreme focus and attention.
This is the course of action we must take toward the Word in order to guard against hardened
hearts. A hard heart is one that is deprived of wisdom, understanding, and judgment. If you dont
consistently ponder, contemplate, and meditate on a particular promise in the Bible, you will
develop a hardened heart towards it. The promises of God cannot come to pass when the
problems you face get more consideration.
What you focus your attention on is what you will be sensitive to and whatever you neglect is what
you will be hardened to. Hearts harden because of neglecting Gods Word. Allow your thought life
to be dominated by the Word of God through consistent meditation, rather than letting your
thinking be dominated by distractions and contrary circumstances. Only believe and watch the
Word come to life in your life!

 Dr. Creflo Dollar