Heart Reversal

A Reflection on the Psalm for March 15th, 2020:
Third Sunday of Lent

Psalm 95

R. O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Harden not your hearts!

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 

R. O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Harden not your hearts!

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. 

R. O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Harden not your hearts!

O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 

R. O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Harden not your hearts!

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Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

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I’m a musician and as a musician I have sung this psalm many, many times. In fact, every time I read this psalm I sing it in my head. So it was very hard for me to look at this passage in a new way.


The first thing I had to do was to separate the sentences and not run them together, like you do when you sing them. Then, I decided to reverse the lines.


Harden not your hearts.
O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord.


This is where I heard God speak.


What does it mean to “harden my heart”? The first thoughts that came to my mind were all the times when, as a teenager, I was about to do something stupid. My mother would always give me advice that I didn’t want to hear. I clearly remember dismissing her because she didn’t know what she was talking about. She didn’t know the situation. She didn’t know me and what was best for me. These are the things I would tell myself because I wanted to do whatever I wanted to do and I didn’t want to stop and think about the consequences. I wanted to live in the moment regardless of the end result. My heart would try to tell me to listen to her but I would shut it down. I would harden it.


I have also done this to God many times in my life. He speaks to me through my heart. My heart tells me, “You are in a bad place, get out.” My heart tells me, “You know I love you. Why do you doubt?” My heart tells me, “You have to forgive her. This is killing you.” But I ignore. I harden. I go about my day.


We all have different reasons why we harden our hearts. My reasons are mostly for self protection. But the walls I put up are not only stopping others from hurting me, they are also hindering my ability to listen to God speak.


So let’s first, “Harden not our hearts”. Let us let God’s love soften the hard places. Let us allow His mercy to penetrate the areas of our lives where we feel most ashamed and vulnerable. Let His constant presence with us strengthen us so we can be open to His Word. Then let us listen to His voice today.




​Maxine Brown

Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash

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