| 1:33 MIN READ |

How’s your heart? If you’ve had a physical recently it probably included an EKG. It’s one of the ways physicians discover heart issues that need attention.

There’s another kind of heart that needs a checkup also. It’s your spiritual heart. It’s a part of you that is invisible, but very real. It includes the way you think, what you feel and how you process life.

As surely as your physical heart has a state or condition of health, your spiritual heart does too. Your spiritual heart can be sick. It can be seriously diseased.

One of the diseases of the spiritual heart is hardness. The Bible warns us of the dangers of heart hardness. Take a look at Hebrews 3:15 (NLT) “… ‘Today, when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.’”

The word “harden” describes a condition we need to avoid at all costs, and recover from, if it’s present. The symptoms of a hard heart include stubbornness, rebellion and resistance to God, and often times, callousness toward others. A hardened heart produces coldness, cynicism and contempt in us.

The good news is, a hard heart can be softened again. It starts with admitting the problem. The cure involves acknowledging the causes of our hardness. When we confess our sin and pride, anger, hurt and disappointment to God and ask Him to forgive us, the softening begins. Connecting with people who demonstrate tenderness of heart also helps us soften up on the inside.

Is your heart hard? Don’t let it stay that way. Begin to address this condition today.

Pastor Dale