"Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God." Joshua 14:8
In his autobiography, Joshua includes the story of the conquering of Canaan, probably the key event of his entire leadership career. Joshua actually approached Cannan twice: Once as a spy, accompanied by eleven other men; and later as a leader, circling the city of Jericho and watching the walls tumble.
It is Joshua's first encounter with Canaan that he refers to in Joshua 8:14 (first told in Numbers 13 and then Deuteronomy 1). Even at the end of his life, he still remembered those "melted hearts," when ten spies came back with an evil report of the dangers lurking in God's promised land and influenced an entire nation to turn its back on God. Without bragging, Joshua simply observed, as he looked back all those years later, "But I wholly followed the Lord my God." Over and over, that phrase recurs as the overarching theme of Joshua's life and leadership.
Have you ever felt that awful sickness of a "melting heart"? It almost always comes at the heels of bad news (sometimes sudden; sometimes progressively bad), confirming the legitimacy of our discouragement. No one can deny our bleak circumstances---and suddenly, we find ourselves fighting an inward battle that is almost worse than the events that drove us to this darkness.
What are the dangers of a melted heart? And even more importantly, what is its cure?
1. A melted heart accuses God.
Deuteronomy gives the play by play. God explains in 1:27, "And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us."
Someone has said, "Our mind is our battlefield." In their tents, they accused God of hating them. In our homes, in our cars, in our back yards--in our minds--is where we find the danger of the melted heart lurking. Does God love me as much as He loves people who are getting blessed? Why is God asking this of me? Why is God being so unfair in my life?
"In this thing, ye did not believe the Lord your God." Unbelief is accusation.
2. The melted heart disobeys.
Just as marijuana has been called the "gateway drug," since its addiction leads to other, even more dangerous, addictions, discouragement could easily be called the "gateway sin." How many temptations begin with discouragement?
Discouragement has often been blamed for tempting people to get out of church faithfully, praying faithfully, giving regularly to the Lord's work, and sharing Christ. Discouraged Christians are more likely to return to old vices and habits that they once gave up. Under the influence of the "melted heart," Christians find an increased temptation to reach for the cigarette or the online gambling they thought they had overcome. Even swearing, profanity, poor viewing habits, and unwise friendships all can easily be traced to a season of "melting heart," where one's faith in God was diminished by discouragement.
Joshua's observation, "But I wholly followed the Lord my God," is more than a life story. It's also a cure. Obedience is the ultimate self-encouragement!
3. The melted heart has the power to make us vicious.
Within a short time, the Israelites went from crying (Numbers 14:1) to attempting to stone Moses and Aaron (Numbers 14:10)! Were it not for a miracle of God, they would have succeeded.
The melted heart can be vicious. Threatened with pain and fear, we want to lash out at others. Cloaked with the entitlement that victimhood often brings, we retaliate at whoever we can find to blame for not doing enough to stop this. Clouded by our own sense of suffering or impending catastrophe, we find it hard to feel the pain of others. Numbness replaces compassion.
I have been surprised at that viciousness when it has surfaced in my own heart. Discouragement is often the "accepted sin," until I suddenly find myself thinking dangerously harsh thoughts about others who don't always understand my dilemmas. Then the danger of the melted heart becomes clear: I hurt others when I let discouragement rule my own heart.
Joshua said it best: "But I wholly followed the Lord my God." He saw the giants too. But he let his eyes travel higher than the giants. Above the giants, he saw a big God. Keep looking up. Don't be a melted heart.
