When Your Old Man Detection Device is Sounding an Alarm!
Have you unwittingly hardened your heart towards God?
I have something I fondly refer to as l my OMDD - my “Old Man Detection Device.”
If you’re wondering what on earth that is, it’s simply the internal alarm that goes off when I realize I’ve slipped back into my “Old Man” status - that old, fallen nature we are called to leave behind. (2Cor 5 v 17)
It’s the “beep” in my spirit, activated by the Holy Spirit, that alerts me when I’m acting out of self-pity, cynicism, or independence instead of in the New Life I have in Christ.
Most days, I like to think I’m walking in the New. But recently, during my quiet time, my OMDD went off so loudly I couldn’t ignore it.
It turned out that a seemingly “harmless” comment I’d made was actually a sign of something much deeper: a heart that was starting to harden.
A Shocking Answer to a Bold Request
I sat down with a specific desire that morning: I wanted to hear the Father’s voice, so I asked Him:
“Lord, speak to me this morning in a way that leaves no room for doubt. I need to know it’s You.”
You know how we sometimes wonder if it’s our own thoughts running through our minds.
Almost immediately, I felt led to read Hebrews 3. I started reading about Moses’ faithfulness and about how Jesus is worthy of even greater glory than Moses because He is the builder of the house.
But when I hit verse 7, it felt like the words leapt right off the page:
“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts...’”
Wow! That shook me. I’d just asked to hear His voice, and His first words to me were a gentle but firm warning: When I speak, don’t harden your heart.
How an innocent remark turned into a much needed lesson
The thought that I’d hardened my heart towards God made me feel extremely sad. I love the Lord and to think I’d possibly caused Him pain with my careless words was almost too much to bear.
Through my tears I asked the Holy Spirit to show me where I’d been hardening my heart, and almost immediately He reminded me of a conversation I’d had with my husband just the day before.
For a few years now, I’ve been having an issue with my left leg. It’s nothing serious, but it sometimes feels like a constant, nagging discomfort.
Now I believe in walking in divine health and healing according to what the Lord promises us in His word, and I’ve been standing on these promises regarding the issue with my leg for a while now.
But that afternoon, I experienced a “moment of weakness”. I looked at my husband and said, “Perhaps the Lord just doesn’t want to heal my leg!”
The second those words left my lips, I knew I was being unfair.
But it wasn’t until my quiet time the next morning that I learnt it was more than just a “moment of weakness”, it was in fact a hardening of my heart.
By entertaining that thought, and speaking those words, without even realising it, I was unconsciously building a wall to protect myself from disappointment, effectively lowering my expectations of God’s goodness and faithfulness.
And not only that, in doing so, I was diminishing Christ’s glory as the builder of this body of mine, which is His house!
The Garden Connection
It shouldn’t really surprise us that we sometimes fall prey to things like this.
When we entertain those “perhaps God doesn’t really want to heal me” thoughts, we’re walking a path as old as time.
In the Garden, Adam and Eve didn’t just eat a piece of fruit; they hardened their hearts toward God by choosing disobedience and following the enemy.
Satan had convinced them that God was holding out on them - that He just didn’t want them to be like Him.
The moment we doubt His motives toward us, we are aligning ourselves with the enemy’s narrative. We are hardening our hearts towards God.
We retreat into our old, fallen nature. The part of us that finds a strange, protective comfort in self-pity. That is the “Old Man” trying to take the lead again.
When we are born-again we become new creations, and we have no business dwelling in our old, fallen nature, which includes feeling sorry for ourselves and giving in to feelings of despair. (2Corinthians 5:17)
Is Your OMDD Alerting You?
As women called to lead and serve, we become masters of “getting it done.”
But that strength can sometimes become a shield behind which our hearts can start to harden.
Let’s take a look at a few other ways our OMDD’s might be trying to alert us:
Self-Reliance:
When we think we can just get on with it without first consulting the Builder, we are wasting our time and heading for failure and disappointment, which can lead to a hardening of the heart. (Psalm 127:1)
Spiritual Cynicism:
Lowering our expectations of God to avoid being disappointed again. When we “give up hope” of getting the outcome we desire from God, ( perhaps God just doesn’t want to heal my leg!) to the point where we think we know what He must be thinking, can makes us sick and leads to a hardening of the heart. (Proverbs 13:12)
Comparison:
Feeling envious when others are blessed and we’re still waiting for God to move on our behalf, doubting His timing in our lives, we are hardening our hearts. (Proverbs 14:30)
Choosing “doing” over “being”:
Becoming so busy with “the Lord’s work” that we have no time to just sit and listen to the Lord as His daughters. Our hearts become hardened. (Luke 10 v 42)
Conclusion:
I’m so grateful for a Father who loves me enough to correct me.
He disciplines those He loves, not to shame us, but to bring us back into the fullness of who He created us to be - His children, created in His image, according to His likeness.
Contrary to what the enemy had Adam and Eve believing, God does want us to be like Him. Not that we can be God, but that we are to be like Him by nature.
When we are born again, we become a new creation. We have no business dwelling in our old, fallen nature or giving in to feelings of despair. They belong in the past.
We are the dwelling place of Jesus Christ, and He deserves greater glory!
My Challenge For You:
This week, I challenge you to listen for the “beep” of your own Old Man Detection Device.
If you find yourself sinking into despair or trying to take the reins back from God, stop and ask Him:
“Lord, where am I hardening my heart?”
He is so faithful to answer, to heal, and to keep your heart soft, ready, and able to hear His voice.
Let’s Chat in the Comments:
Where has your OMDD “ been beeping” lately? Is there a specific area where you’ve noticed a thought entering your mind that might actually be pointing towards a hardened heart?
What are some other ways in which we may be hardening our hearts that come to mind? Share with us.
Which scripture helps you pivot back to your “New Life” status? I’ll be jumping into the comments to chat with you!