Soft Hearts: Put Down the Armor

All of us have experienced ill-timed and misplaced words. Words that hurt, words that divided, and words that were simply not needed. We have also experienced the brokenness and sin of others; being ignored, being abused, being taken advantage of. We have experienced the absence of love at the cost of intimacy, the absence of generosity at the cost of joy, and the absence of confidentiality at the cost of trust. When we are wounded, we put on protection and armor up. When we armor up, we also harden our heart. We do not want to be hurt again.

Unfortunately, our experiences with sinful human beings are projected onto our relationship with God—we assume He will treat us like they did. We assume He will withhold from us like they did. We assume He will also wound us like they did. Consequently, we live with an armored heart.

To know the Lord is to know His heart; a heart that longs to make us whole. God’s heart made itself vulnerable, and took on the pain of the world. He understands what is at stake when He asks us to soften our hearts toward Him. He also knows that a hardened heart will only close in on itself, whereas a soft heart will live, grow, and thrive. Out of a whole heart are we able to love.

So, how do we put down the armor?

What is your internal response to feedback from others? Circle all that apply below.

What is your internal response to feedback from God? (This can come through Scripture, worship, prayer, etc.) Circle all that apply below.

1. What similarities do you see in your response to correction? What differences?

2. Which responses indicate a hardness of heart? A softness of heart?

Spend time in prayer thanking God for the places you have a softness of heart and asking that this softness continue.

Take the places of hardness of heart to God and ask Him to:

• heal your heart;
• help you grieve and lament the pain that led to this hardness;
• assure you of His forgiveness for any sin that has come from your hardness of heart;
• help you do your part in any reconciliation that needs to happen;
• give you the courage to have a soft and wise heart;
• help you trust Him with your heart;
• remind you to go to Him when pain and wounding comes.

As you grow in softness of heart and put down the armor, may your heart grow to reflect the heart of God.