“. . . I will protect him because he knows my name”
— Psalm 91:14 (ESV)
As we have mentioned, some of the ways we soften our heart are by remembering what God has done. Seeing God according to who He says He is. Being open to see the hardened soil in our own heart, addressing it and turning from those lies, and by renewing the mind.
In the verse above, God is saying that you will be protected because you know My character. It does not mean that God is soo pleased with you for knowing His name that He decides to protect you. No, not at all.
He means the more you know and meditate on who I really am, the more you will trust I am going to protect and take care of you.
Knowing who God is by what He reveals to us through His names and in the life of Jesus gives us confidence in Him. When you know someone’s character, you know if you can trust them or not.
It is important to get to know God by meditating on what He says about Himself and studying the life of Jesus, not by your circumstances. God gets blamed for so many bad things. However, when you learn His character, you realize He only brings good because that is who He is – a Good Father.
We may say God is a good Father, but in our heart we are not sure because of something that happened.
For instance, have you ever heard something about God or read a verse and there is an ever so slight hesitancy? Or maybe an “I’m not so sure about that”. Take time to listen, be attentive to your heart’s response. It’s not easy to admit what we are really feeling, but if you will be honest with yourself, you can then change and grow. You can soften your heart. I’ve had the Holy Spirit reveal things in my heart that I didn’t know were there, When I open my heart, I am able to hear or see what is really there.
When you have that slight hesitancy and you admit it, then let the Spirit reveal where the wrong belief took root. Take it to the cross and tell Jesus that you know the Word says He is the protector, the deliverer, the healer, the shepherd, etc and that you choose what he says about Himself over your experience.
God is very patient and never condemning. He wants us to see the wrong belief so we can admit it and move forward. When we face it, God is able to help us let it go so that we can receive from Him. That is a soft heart.
You choose to break up the hardened ground or to leave it.
“The amount of permeating light depends upon the beliefs of your heart”.
Seeing Doesn’t Mean Believing