Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Why, O Lord, do you make us stray from your ways and harden our heart, so that we do not fear you? Turn back for the sake of your servants, for the sake of the tribes that are your heritage.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, June 28, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This language has always bugged me. Probably I need to do more theological digging somewhere, but I really do not like the idea that God hardens people’s hearts in any way shape or form. Talk about blaming the victim. Our hearts are hard because we make them hard. We want to control outcomes. We want to live lives of ease and comfort without effort. We don’t want to have to listen to God’s exhortation to work for justice on behalf of our neighbors.
On the other hand, when I think about this in the language of addiction and recovery, I understand why people might want to attribute their hardness of heart to God. Because as an addict, no matter how much I wanted to not pick up that substance in order to numb the pain of my unhappiness, I always did. Wanting to change did not make the change happen. And it feels to me like this passage is from a people crying out, “We want to be different. We want to follow your laws, God, and live as you would have us. But no matter how hard we try, we can’t. So it must be you hardening our hearts because we can’t come up with any other explanation.”
The truth is that God is always there ready to soften and open our hearts if we just let God. That means giving up our attempt to control our lives, and turning the whole kaboodle over to someone with the power to actually change us.
When and how have I allowed God to soften my heart so that I can walk more closely with God?
