Cultivating A Soft Heart
A soft heart is one that is pliable. It is one that yields to pressure as it is shaped into a beautiful vessel that is useful to the Lord.
When we are saved, we become a lump of clay in the hands of the Lord. The Potter only works with soft clay. We have to be willing to be molded into a beautiful vessel by the hands of the Lord. With every trial that comes in our lives, He is shaping us into what He would have us to be. God is looking for soft, pliable hearts that He can mold into His image.
If the clay is hard, the potter will spend days pouring water on it and pounding it thoroughly until it becomes soft. It took God 20 long years of “pouring and pounding” until Jacob’s heart became soft enough. Moses needed 40 years of desert life to become the meekest man on earth (Numbers 12:3) who could lead Israel out of Egypt.
The Bible warns us not to harden our hearts. Hebrews 3:15, “Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”
We need to get in the Word of God and allow it to work in us and transform our lives. The more we allow God to mold us and shape us according to His will, the more useful we will be to Him.
A Hard Heart vs. A Soft Heart:
| Hard Heart | Soft Heart |
| Proud | Humble |
| Unteachable | Teachable |
| Fleshly | Spiritual |
| Disobedient | Obedient |
| Unresponsive to Scripture | Responsive to Scripture |
| Unbelieving | Believing |
Josiah became king of Judah when he was just eight years old. A soft or “tender” heart characterized his life.
II Kings 22:19, “Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.”
Josiah’s heart was soft because he chose to do RIGHT at an early age
Although he was young when he became king, Josiah made a decision to walk in the ways of the Lord. Choosing to walk in the ways of the Lord at a young age helped him maintain a soft heart as he grew older.
As we grow older, the choices we make will determine whether or not our heart stays soft or hardens as we age. Josiah made the choice to be obedient to God’s Word.
Are you choosing now to obey the Lord so that your heart will remain soft?
II Kings 22:2, “And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.”
Much heartache can be avoided in our lives if we make the choice to follow God while we are young. I am so grateful that I made this choice at a young age. I have made plenty mistakes along the way. But waiting until later in life to turn to Christ would have had dire consequences. The longer we wait to turn our hearts to the Lord, the less likely we will actually do so.
God saves us from the penalty of sin, but He cannot always save us from the consequences of our sin. When we continue to harden our hearts and make wrong choices, unnecessary troubles will come into our lives.
Proverbs 28:14, “Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”
Josiah’s heart was soft because he RESPONDED to God’s Word
II Kings 22:8-11, “And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD. And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.”
The Search for God’s Word
One thing I find very sad in this passage was that God’s Word had to be found. If God’s Word had been in use and being read on a regular basis, they would have known right where it was.
Do you ever have to go hunting for your Bible on Sunday morning because you haven’t touched it since the previous week?
What a sad commentary on the nation of Israel! And what a sad commentary on our own spiritual lives.
Jeremiah 18:12, “And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.”
If we continually ignore the convicting presence of God’s Word in our life, eventually our hearts will become hardened and our consciences seared. At some point, God will give us up to our own devices if we continue to ignore His Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
How do you respond to the conviction of God’s Word?
Because Josiah’s heart was soft he was able to lead a spiritual REFORM
Because he chose to do right at an early age, and because he responded to the Word of the Lord, Josiah was able to lead Judah in spiritual reform.
Josiah was only 26 years old when he led this reform. He was able to become a spiritual leader at a young age because he had made the right choices while still a young boy.
The nation of Israel was a rebellious people. They continually hardened their hearts against the Lord even after He did many mighty miracles on their behalf.
Psalm 95:8, “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:”
God miraculously brought them out of Egypt, yet they demonstrated an attitude of ungratefulness through their hardened hearts.
Josiah could have easily followed this path and hardened his heart against the Word of the Lord. Instead he chose to soften his heart and follow the path of righteousness.
Closing Thoughts…
God has a great plan and purpose for your life. He is looking for ladies young and old(er) who will stand up for Him and follow the path of holy living. He wants to use your life in a mighty way, but it begins by seeking Him with all of your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Julia,
I love how you compared a soft heart to moldable clay that the Potter himself can work with. However, when it becomes hard, he would have to added more water until he could work with it until. It bring to mind the phrase “your Spirit’s like water to my soul” from a song I heard growing up. We need to be receptive to God’s Spirit and spend time in His Word so we can be usable later on. Great post!
Thank you Lauren!