Have you ever had a callous? Most of us have had one on our hands or feet. Anywhere that the skin must resist rough treatment, an area of thickened skin called a “callous” forms. And the additional strength is welcome—it’s better than a blister. But a callous is vulnerable too. If it is pierced, cut, or punctured, it does not heal well. I have mixed emotions about callouses for just that reason. They seem “manly” somehow, but if you slice into one, the difficult healing makes having a callous regrettable.
Imagine a callous on your heart. The Bible speaks often about “hearts grown calloused.” Is your heart calloused—have you grown a thick spot from resisting God’s Word? The Bible says people can develop calloused hearts, blind eyes, and deaf ears. God said it about His chosen people, the Jews, through both Isaiah and Paul:
“Go to these people and say: You will listen and listen, yet never understand; you will look and look, yet never perceive. For the hearts of these people have grown CALLOUS, their ears hard of hearing, and they have SHUT THEIR EYES; otherwise, they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted, and I would heal them” Acts 28:26-27.
People say God’s word will step on your toes. Maybe not literally. But His word will touch you. Will you let it sink in and change you, or will you resist His touch and grow calloused?
God says the Jews were actively shutting their eyes. They ignored what they did not want to see and hear, and became BLIND, DEAF, and CALLOUSED. If you are calloused to God’s touch in one area, that callous will make you unable to feel His touch in all areas. If you resist God’s word in ONE area, you will CEASE TO HEAR HIS VOICE in ALL areas.
When I read passages like this, I pray about my heart. Go back over Acts 28:26-27 (above) and ask God to make your heart open and tender, your ears listening, and your eyes seeing. Beg Him to give you a listening, worshipful heart that responds to Him quickly and obediently.
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Household Words: 