Prophetic Points to Ponder II

“…Moses reported this to the Israelites but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage...” Exodus 6:9

The words of Moses were words of hope and promise. Through the stuttering lips of the timid prophet, God was seeking to communicate that he had heard the cries of his children. He was assuring them he would deliver them from the yoke of Egyptian slavery and lead them, with a mighty hand, into the land of Promise. (Exodus 6:6-8)

But they wouldn't hear a word of it. Perhaps, better said, they couldn’t hear a word of it.

Once, sometime in the past, they had been filled with faith, gratitude, and enthusiasm for the things of God – the Land of Goshen. But now their hearts had become strangely similar to the bricks they were mindlessly manufacturing for Pharaoh; hardened and impenetrable by any moisture from above.

If not monitored, the desert elements of discouragement and cruel bondage will form a toxic combination which handicaps ones ability to hear (and believe) the Promises of God. The Bible calls this condition “a hardened heart.” It’s a natural outcome of life in the desert and can breed a cynical, bitter, and even disbelieving demeanor in the heart of the disciple.

Ezekiel prophesied God would one day remove the heart of stone and exchange it with a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 11:19) A heart of flesh is a beautiful thing. A person with a heart of flesh dares to listen. She is sensitive, discerning, and open. She is willing to believe. Her being is intentionally softened through the streams of the Holy Spirit. She is postured in certain, living vulnerability, which enables her to flow within and embrace the mysterious wonder of God’s promise.

Even in the midst of immense pain and disappointment, a person with a heart of flesh can recognize and even be encouraged by God’s Promise, regardless of how preposterous it seems.

Heavenly Father, create in me a contrite heart. Lift me from all discouragement and cruel bondage. Wash me in the water of your Word and rain onto my rocky soil, that I might know you and believe you as your Word is revealed in my heart. Amen.