A Pliable Heart (Week 7)

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I  remember doing a play in Vacation Bible School about the all the plagues that came against the people of Egypt because Pharaoh wouldn’t let God’s people out of slavery. It was a repetitive cycle it seems. A plague would come upon the people that was pretty devastating. Pharaoh would ask Moses to ask his God to stop the plague and then he would let the people go. Moses would pray, God would intervene , and Pharaoh would once again harden his heart and refuse to let the people go.

​The blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and finally the death of the firstborn. It took all 10 plagues before Pharaoh finally let the Israelites  go.

​As I was reading about the plagues this time (I have read and heard this story so many times), God showed me something new. Don’t you just love how He can continually show us new things about a passage we may have read so many times?! I started thinking How often do I do the same thing as Pharaoh? Do I live in that same repetitive cycle? Do I find myself refusing to change?

​I started thinking about how I’ve often found myself in a hard place and have prayed to God and said if you will just ___________, I will ______________. God would follow through with His end of the bargain, but often I would just continue on living just like I was before. I might change for a short minute, but would often revert back to my old ways. Maybe I didn’t have that hardened heart like Pharaoh, but I certainly didn’t have a very pliable heart.
 
However, Pharaoh never prayed to God himself; he asked Moses to do it instead. Pharaoh didn’t know God personally. He knew of Him, but didn’t believe in Him and His powers. But the real difference for us as believers is that unlike Pharaoh and the Israelites, we have the Holy Spirit working in our hearts. Before Jesus went back to heaven  He told the disciples He would send the Holy Spirit.  John 14:26 says, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

​The Holy Spirit helps us keep our hearts pliable. The Holy Spirit whispers in our hearts the things we have been taught before and encourages us to get back on the path we have been called. Sometimes it’s easy to look at people in the Bible and think why did it take you so long to figure it out when in reality, if I just look in the mirror, I would see someone else that often takes too long to figure things out. I often have to learn the same lesson over and over. Thank goodness God doesn’t give up on me!

Memory Verse: “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 11:19 NIV

About the Author

Hi! My name is Angi Morrison and I live in Dallas, GA with my husband, Mike. We've been married 29 years and raised two children, Chris (27) and Katie (23). Last year I became a Gigi, and I am completely enamored with my grandchildren, Grey and Crew. I am a retired teacher of special education students, and enjoy spending time outside reading, playing tennis, and walking. I've walked with Christ for many years now, but continue to be amazed at the new things I learn as I read His Word each day, and look forward to sharing those things with you.

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