Slow of Heart
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. – Luke 24:25-27 NKJV.
For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’ – Psalm 95:10 NKJV.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. – Luke 6:45 NKJV.
Do most people keep their bottle of superglue on the shelf next to their eye drops? Well, Irmgard Holm who lives in Glendale, Arizona must keep her eye drops next to her superglue, as she picked up the superglue instead of the eye drops. She then put a few drops of the superglue into her eye. As you can imagine the results were not good. Irmgard immediately noticed a burning sensation and tried to wash the superglue out of her eye. However, it was too late, and her eye was glued shut. Thankfully, emergency room staff were able to remove the hardened glue, and it does not appear that Irmgard received any permanent damage. (Reported by KSAZ-TV Fox10 phoenix dot com)
There are obviously some things that will harm you. Superglue, we now know, is not good for your eyes. It is also not a good idea to keep the eye drops stored next to the superglue; and, there are some things worse than damaging your eyes. Heart damage is even worse, physically, and especially on a spiritual level. In Proverbs 4:23 we are told, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Another translation says that the heart is the “well spring of life.” Whatever has the potential of damaging our hearts we need to keep out of the reach of children, and everyone else, including ourselves.
Common sense is not always in opposition to the will of God, and a little common sense can help to protect your heart from becoming bogged down in the muck of the world. Exposing your heart to sinful things will slow down your heart as far as doing the will of God is concerned. In 1 Peter 2:11 the Bible says, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” Put the sinful things out of sight and out of reach.
We can, however, make our hearts more sensitive to the things of God and quicker to respond to His will. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 119:32 “I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart.” He is saying that he will live according to God’s commandments, and God will then, enlarge his heart. If you want your heart to be enlarged, if you want your heart to be quick to respond to the will of God, if you want your heart to bring forth good things – then, live as God wants you to live. Put away the sinful things and fill your life up with all the good things of God. Learn the ways of God, and your heart will be enlarged, as will all of your life.
(Common sense is not always in opposition to the will of God, and a little common sense can help to protect your heart from becoming bogged down in the muck of the world.)