"... Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
as you did that day at Messah in the desert,
where your fathers tested and tried me,
though they had seen what I did.
For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, 'they are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.'
So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.'" -- Psalm 95:7-11
Psalm 95 is an open invitation to unbelievers and even Christians who "harden" their hearts toward God when they experience hardships in life.
Perhaps it is straight-forward as we talk about the "hardening" of hearts when we do not heed God's guidance and commandments. What about incidents where we have sinned against the Lord but refuse to acknowledge it by finding excuses to justify our actions? What about our self-righteousness and pride that cause us to accuse others of their wrongs in our hearts, even though we do not act it out?
Those are outright evidence of what God terms as the "hardening" of our heart. We may not be conscious of it, but gradually we may not be able to hear from God one day and slip into the danger of complacency with God. The latter may lead to the condition of our hearts turning lukewarm towards God and ultimately rejecting His blessings totally! It can happen to the most faithful of God's people at some stage of their walk with God (eg. King David, who was described as "a man after God's heart", committed adultery and murder during his reign).
Let's make an effort to thank God despite our difficult circumstances before us lest we become complacent in our relationship with Christ. God will surely rest His favour upon us when we remain thankful and faithful to Him.
