Power Of Pliability

Power of Pliability

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Ps. 37:4 NKJV

What does it mean to delight ourselves in the Lord? First, let’s take a look at this idea in Hebrew. The verb here is anag (Strong's H6026). The Strong’s definition of the word is “to be soft or pliable.” It is used 10 different times: Deuteronomy 28:56; Job 22:26, 27:10; Psalms 37:4, 37:11; Isaiah 55:2, 57:4, 58:14; 66:11, and Jeremiah 6:2.

For the KJV, it is translated as “delight” 7 times, as “delicate” once, as “delicateness” once, and as “sport” once (sport as in the sense of making sport of something or ridiculing in Isaiah 57:4).

So, 7 out of 10 times it is used as “delight,” and this was the use of the word for our verse in Psalm 37:4. Let’s start in this area of delight and what it means to do that in the Lord.

Back to the Strong’s literal definition of “to be soft or pliable.” The Bible often gives a contrast of concepts. In this instance on the one end of the spectrum, we are referring to being soft or pliable. Something that can be adjusted or altered in a soft or pliable state.

When I come to the Lord, how pliable am I? Let’s take this at a basic idea of a child and parent. There are times when a child can be pliable and easily influenced. And other times that a child can be stubborn or what the Bible might call “hard of heart.”

When a child has decided in their mind to do something, it is often hard to change their mind. They have become resolved of will. This can often lead to a crash collision between the child and either the parent or the “real world" when things do not work out the way they think it will.

In the Old Testament, it would appear that the Israelites would do this often. Two ends of the spectrum. Pliable to the Lord or hard of heart. Psalm 95 is quoted in Hebrews 3 speaking of the lack of responsiveness of Israelites to the voice of the Lord due to the hardening of their hearts.

Hardness is the opposite of pliability. The Hebrew word for “harden” in Psalm 95:8 is qašâ (Strong's H7185). It is used to describe a hardening against what God is trying to do. Hebrews 3:15 translates the Hebrew from Ps. 95:8 into Greek with the use of skleryno (Strong’s G4645), which the Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines as "to make dry or hard.”

Pliable or hard. If we are pliable, we can be persuaded. If we are hard of heart, there may not be anything to persuade us. Consider Pharoah as an example, he was hardened of heart (by the Lord) and refused to let the Israelites go as described in Exodus (Exd 7:13, 22; 8:19).i

So, if the spectrum ranges between a soft/pliable heart that is yielded to the Lord and hard/stiffnecked disposition in opposition from the Lord, the question becomes how do we stay pliable?

Back to Ps. 37:4–

If we translated it literally, it would say “be soft/pliable” in the Lord. In this instance, the responsibility is on us to stay in a pliable condition to stay in a state ready to respond to the voice of the Lord.ii

We need to be in a condition of pliability. Why is this important? Because God cannot work in us what He wants to work in us if we are hardened and dried out. Why not? Because He knows our frame. Just as the potter cannot work with dry clay, the Father cannot work with a hardened dried-out heart. It would simply make us crack and crumble.

God’s heart for us is the opposite of that. His desire for us is peace. It is wholeness. It is fullness. But, He cannot enlarge and expand our hearts (Ps. 119:32 NKJV) if we are not in a condition of pliability.iii

So, how do we stay soft and pliable in the Lord?

The Holy Spirit is there to lead us. He wants us to be in a state of pliability so that He can work in us. It is the work of God in us that keeps us in a place of even wanting to do what we are seeing Him do and say what we are hearing Him say. We simply ask, “Holy Spirit, help me be pliable. Soften the hardness of my heart that I may hear the voice of the Lord and respond.”

The Holy Spirit is there. He is our source.

So, what is our part?

To have an example, let’s use the idea of watering for a moment. I can have a spigot at my house with all of the water I need. But, if I don’t hook up the hose and direct the water to the area of my lawn that needs watering, that area stays dried and cracked. I have to hook up the hose, set it in place, and turn on the spigot. The water then flows out to where I send it.