Beware of the Petrified Heart

Petrify~ is the change (organic matter) into a stony concretion by encrusting or replacing it’s original substance with calcareous, siliceous or other mineral deposit.

There are many believers in The Messiah who start out with a tender heart, a heart of flesh, but it is because of the circumstances and troubles of life, their hearts become hard, stony, and petrified.

The floods and fire (the trials) of life has very much of an affect on us, whether we choose to acknowledge this or not. And often, just like the natural process of petrifaction, these trials can harden our hearts. It is important that we look to God and allow Him to work in us to renew our minds and soften our hearts daily.

One might wonder why is this so important. Why work so diligently to guard against a heart of stone; a petrified heart?

Let’s take a look at what God’s word say about hardness of heart.

Proverbs 28:14
Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord,

but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble

This verse illustrates that a person who fears the Lord is blessed; but the one who hardens their heart falls into trouble; destruction.

What does it mean to fear the Lord God?

When we fear the Lord, we are obeying and following His was. We are concerned with the things that concern Him and we love the things that are of Him.

Jesus, Yeshua, also told us not to fear man, who can kill only the body and not the soul, but to fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).

Proverbs has many more verses illustrating the benefits that come with fearing the Lord. When one fears the Lord they gain:

*Wisdom and understanding (9:5-6)

*Wealth, honor and life (22:4)

*Prolonged life (10:27)

Other passages that also describes benefits are:

*Isaiah 33:6~ …The fear of the Lord is your treasure.

*Psalms 111:10~ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…

*Isaiah 11:3~ His (talking about the Messiah, Jesus) delight will be in the fear of the Lord…

*I highly suggest reading these chapters in full so that you can grasp further understanding.*

These scriptures show that when one has the fear of the Lord in them, they have reverence, respect and humility for God and for who God is (Holy, Sovereign and Righteous). The person understands the knowledge and wisdom of God Almighty and they truly realize that apart from The Most High, there is no stability, peace, salvation or life. Because of His grace and mercy and His goodness, the Lord has given us the understanding of who He is and what He is about as well as the wisdom to follow Him and fear Him.

Now what happens when a person has witnessed the Lord’s goodness or even know of Him but choose to harden their hearts?

Contrary to the one who has humility and the fear of the Lord in their heart, he hard-hearted person has pride and no fear or reverence for the Lord God Almighty.

Therefore, instead of inheriting the gifts and treasure that comes with the fear of the Lord and a humble heart (knowledge, wisdom, salvation and life), the hard-hearted will turn away from the light of God and towards darkness and destruction. They set themselves against the ways of the Lord and are headed toward wickedness and death.

We can see this in the example of the children of Israel in the times of Ezekiel. God told the Prophet many times that the people he speaks to will not turn away from there wickedness. The Lord told him that these people were rebellious, but none the less, because of the mercy of God, the Lord had his Prophet warn his people so that they may tun from their wickedness.

Symptoms of a hard heart includes, but is not limited to:

Anger, Bitterness, Resentment and Pride

These manifests into:

Disobedience, Spiritual Blindness and Deafness, Rebellion, Foolishness, Destruction, Unforgiveness and Unrepentance

It is written in II Timothy 3:1-7~

1. But in the last days, grievous times will come. 2. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3. without natural affection, unforgiving, slanders, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good, 4. traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5. holding a form of godliness but having denied its power. Turn away from these also. 6. For some of these are people who creep into houses and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led by various lusts, 7. always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Romans 1:28 states that those who refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not fitting.

Hebrews 3:7-11 states that when we hear the voice of the Lord, do not harden our hearts as in rebellion. It is also written that those who harden their hearts in rebellion and did not know His ways did not enter into the Lord’s rest.

I pray that all who comes across this post will enter into God’s rest. I pray that you all will know and understand the things of the Holy One. I pray that the Lord will give you a heart of flesh and renew your mind. Dear Lord, open the eyes of our heart and give us understanding. Give us knowledge and wisdom in You. I tear down the works of the enemy in the name of Jesus Christ. Father God, heal us and renew us. Make us whole in Your wonderful name. Pour out Your Spirit. Dear Lord, guard our hearts.

 A hard heart, often, is something that happens over time and many times it creeps up on us. Bitterness, pride and offense, they may be results of emotional and past hurts, swirling around and piling onto the heart until it becomes a heart of stone. It does not have to be that way. The Lord wants you to give him all of your troubles and insecurities. Do not hold onto them. Humble yourselves and look to Yeshua for deliverance. We cannot go through this life on our own, we need Him. We need the Lord’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness. We need His goodness. Repent and turn towards Him. The Lord is patient towards us. He does not wish that any of us to perish, but that all will reach repentance. The Lord wants you and He is coming soon.

All of this I pray in Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.