As I was reading through Psalm 95, these words really stood out and spoke to me: "If only you would listen to his voice today! … Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did!" They appear suddenly and seemingly unlinked to what has gone before: "Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him … Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care."

So why the abrupt introduction of "Don't harden your hearts"? I felt God saying: "You have a daily choice. When you hear me speaking to you, you can either listen to me and obey me or harden your heart against my instructions and thus against me." Wow! This led me to study the rest of this Psalm and Hebrews 3:7-4:7 which also warns of this danger. I asked myself the question: "How can I, as a child of God, cause my own heart to become hardened?" I discovered the following. What might be applicable to you? Several convicted me.

• By thinking negatively about the character of God and by doubting his love for me (The Israelites actually said "The Lord hates us!" The servant in the parable who refused to use his gift or even invest it said: "I know you are a hard man …" What a terrible lie! God's heart is merciful and full of compassion.)

• By testing him, that is by not taking him at his word, but rather demanding proof that his promises can be trusted

• By turning away from him and his purposes for me; by insisting on doing my own thing

• By refusing to listen to his voice attentively and refusing to obey him from the heart

• By believing the devil's lies (that trouble means he is no longer with me and carrying me; that I am a spiritual grass-hopper).

• By resisting and rebelling against his will for me when I hit difficulties and suffer personal loss

• By not being thankful and grateful; by not counting my blessings

• By not worshipping in spirit and truth; by just going through the motions

• By not fully trusting in him and resting in him; by not constantly acknowledging and rejoicing that I am loved and cared for by him

• By giving in to self-pity; by fixing my eyes on my own suffering, not on that of Jesus for me

• By grumbling and complaining and blaming God and others, especially leaders.

• By giving in to fear and discouragement; becoming cowardly; by giving up on the supernatural, the miraculous and radical discipleship.