Mark 8:17-18 NIV Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? You have good eyes, yet you still don’t see, and you have good ears, yet you still don’t hear, neither do you remember.
Most of the time, we think of a person with a hard heart as someone in deliberate rebellion against God. And while it is true that a rebellious person does have a hardened heart, the word hardened, as used by Mark, means to be dull, calloused, and without understanding. The disciples were so fixated on their own idea of the Messiah and their perception of the Kingdom of God that they often missed what God was doing right before their eyes. Their hardened hearts came from being so focused on the natural that they were dull and blind to the supernatural, unable to see the miracles, deaf to spiritual truths, and failed to understand that God was continually revealing himself.
In the short span of time covering Mark chapters 5–6, the disciples had been front-row witnesses to miracle after miracle. The astonishing deliverance of a demon-possessed man, given up on by all those who knew him, left to live in caves and graveyards. Complete healing of the women with the issue of blood, suffering from an incurable disease, who grabbed the hem of Jesus garment in a last ditch effort. The unheard of resurrection of a local synagogue leader’s daughter, who had fallen ill and died. And the amazing feeding of 5000 men (plus women and children) with just five loaves of bread and two fish.
This hungry crowd could have been fed by God raining down manna from heaven. After all, that was how God had done it before. It would have been sensible to remind God of how he fed the nation of Israel in the desert and called down bread from heaven. But God chose to use a young boy's lunch, giving up and surrendering what he had, for greater glory. The miracle started with surrender, and it is surrender that opens our eyes to see God’s hand at work. Surrendering our own demands, ways, thoughts, and ideas of how something has to be done. Too often, pride makes our prayers directional, trying to tell God how to do something rather than surrendering everything and allowing him to be God. We end up missing the opportunity to see him for who he is and see him at work in unexpected ways. Proverbs 3:5 warns us to trust in Him and not lean on our own understanding.
Every day, we are surrounded by God’s miracles and His presence. A hardened heart comes from failing to acknowledge and celebrate God’s hand in our lives and everything around us. When we fail to acknowledge that every breath we take in, every beat of our heart, and every blink of our eyes are not just random, involuntary actions but the result of being created in God’s image with bodies divinely knitted together by a loving Creator. When we fail to constantly see Him as our defender, provider, healer, deliverer, the Savior of our souls, and a miracle-working God, our hearts grow hard.
When the unexpected happens in life—when we are surprised by a diagnosis, a financial shortfall, a broken relationship—we can choose to fall back on our emotions and our own thoughts, or we can surrender it all to a loving Father whose plans for us are always good. We can try to understand and figure it out on our own, or we can trust a loving Father and gain a front-row seat to the miraculous.
Father, open our eyes to see you, our ears to hear you, and a heart that surrenders, so we might be continuously reminded of who you are and your miracles happening all around us.
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Gary and Sandy Anthony
1 Samuel 16:7 NLT But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 NLT And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my commands.
Psalms 51:10-11 NLT Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Proverbs 4:23 TPT So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life.
Philippians 4:7 NLT God’s peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
John 14:27 TPT I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous!
Mark 8:17-18 TPT Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus said to them, Why all this fussing over forgetting to bring bread? Do you still not see or understand what I say to you? Are your hearts still hard? You have good eyes, yet you still don’t see, and you have good ears, yet you still don’t hear, neither do you remember.
Hebrews 4:12 NLT For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Psalms 19:14 TPT So may the words of my mouth, my meditation-thoughts, and every movement of my heart be always pure and pleasing, acceptable before your eyes, Yahweh, my only Redeemer, my Protector.
Proverbs 3:5-6 TPT Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go.
Matthew 6:21 NLT Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Proverbs 27:19 NLT As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.
Philippians 4:6-8 TPT Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ. Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.
2 Corinthians 3:14 NLT But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.
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