How would you define the word today? Webster’s Dictionary defines the word as this present time, this present age. The word today is so vital in our time. Jesus made a statement using this word in three different places in Scripture:
Today [while there is still opportunity] if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart, as when they provoked Me [in the rebellion in the desert at Meribah] (Hebrews 3:15 AMP).
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Hebrews 3:7-8 NKJV).
...He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7 NKJV).
This leads me to ask you what you are hearing today to which God is asking you not to harden your heart. Could you be hardening your heart to God’s voice, asking you to witness to a co-worker who has done everything to undermine your ability or authority? Could you be hardening your heart to walking in love towards your spouse? Could you be hardening your heart regarding changing a mindset that you have had for years? What are you hearing today, and are you hardening your heart?
I realize that in the scriptures cited above, God is referring to His children, the Israelites, who mumbled, complained, and failed to believe Him even after they saw His signs and wonders. However, I also hear God speaking today to His Body—to Christians—probing them in a similar manner. The Lord God Almighty, the Author of our salvation, is asking us:
· When will you trust Me instead of the government?
· When will you look to Me for answers to your problems?
· When will you take My Word seriously, as you do the word of a trusted friend or doctor?
· When will you not harden your heart towards what My Spirit is saying about the coming times and how you are to prepare for them?
When our hearts are hardened by discord, frustration, despair, or any number of things coming at us from the media—or even from inside the Church—it can interfere with our ability to hear God’s voice. Therefore, we often end up in wrong situations, as we fail to hear His voice calling us to a certain path or direction.
We see an example of this with the Israelites. After their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites spent much of their time grumbling about leadership, water, food, the heat, and the perceived lack of necessities. As a result, their hearts were hardened, so that they could not see the provision of God, such as the water He brought from a rock, the fresh manna He supplied daily, the meat He brought to the camp, the dry sea across which He led them, and a compass in the form of a cloud and a pillar of fire. God was merciful to them, despite their hardened hearts. And yet, the day came when they hardened their hearts one time too many. The stout words that flowed from their hearts, like an unfettered stream, damned them to the wilderness until they died (see Numbers 13 and 14). In short, they failed to heed His voice and ended up on a path that He had not ordained for them.
Our Father does not want us to be like them. He wants us to put our focus on Him as our Source, Healer, Deliverer, Waymaker, and Judge! He does not want us to become so distracted by the media that we forget that the Greater One lives in us to empower us to live in victory—no matter the report! Let us not forget that “whatever is born of God (that’s you and me!) overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (I John 5:4).
Today, I want you to make a decision to listen out for the voice of God. Do not ignore it. Even if what you may be hearing is going against tradition, follow His voice; He may be leading you into something brand new. Have the attitude of Eli and Samuel: Speak Lord, for Your child hears you.
God bless you as you continue to hear His Voice!
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