Inspirational: HOW TO SOFTEN A HARDENED HEART

Daily Inspirational Encouragement

HOW TO SOFTEN A HARDENED HEART

By: Linda Kirby/WGON

You cannot change people, you can only love them. 1 John 4:11 -- “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” When we want to reach someone because they are hurting, but they want nothing to do with it, the best thing we can do for them is simply to love them. God’s love showing though us can soften a heart and thereby make our words hit where they are aiming -- the heart. Oftentimes, a heart gets hardened due to some sort of trauma or loss. Perhaps some unkindness was done to them over and over again, making them harden their own hearts to protect it. Sin itself will harden a heart. Whatever the cause, love will soften that heart. Love is a great eraser. It can erase all the things that turned that heart to stone. 1 Peter 4:8b -- "[L]ove covers a multitude of sins.” But not just any love, it has to be God’s love. 1 John 4:8b -- “ ... God is love.” Sometimes our words can’t be heard or people don’t want to hear us. Just love them, be kind to them, and allow that love to do the work. God’s love can penetrate the hardest heart. So, if hurting too much is the problem, then surely love is the answer. It is a solution as old as time, but one that needs to be retold over and over in a world that continues to come undone.