12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
-Hebrews 3:12-15, ESV
The heart is the center of our being. We ought to watch over it with great care. The scripture passage from Hebrews reminds us that our heart can be tainted with evil. It can be filled with unbelief. It can be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We can even choose to harden our own hearts. These all have the same outcome; they lead us away from the living God and our salvation in Christ Jesus. It is the constant work of the devil to lead us away from God, to turn us back to old ways and attitudes. Our hearts are under attack from many angles.
What do we do in response to this? How do we safeguard our hearts so that we continue in this new life we have found? One of the simplest and most direct solutions is encouragement. We speak strength, truth, and love into one another’s lives. We help each other up when we fall. We check up on one another. We love through adversity. We tell of God’s faithfulness. We stick together and hang onto the cross of Christ. And we make sure to do this every day.
How has your heart been lately? Keep taking time to listen to God and be receptive to what He is saying. When He speaks don’t harden your heart. How are the hearts of your brothers and sisters in Christ? If any need encouragement, step out and make a difference. God may very well use your words or actions to help another keep the faith.