god is more stubborn than you
NOVEMBER 2012
by Lisa Maki
When I first read the story of the Israelites in the wilderness and their journey to the Promised Land, I thought to myself: How much more stubborn can they get? They never learned. And yet, how different are we really from them? Just like the Israelites, how many times have we resisted God, disobeyed Him, and even complained to Him.
Rebellion and stubbornness are very closely related to each other. And 1 Samuel 15:23 says that “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry”.
When you are trying to make something work out ... something that you know is not approved by God ... or something that He is already telling you to quit ... and you still continue to do it, then you are being stubborn. When you need to make some changes, in accordance with God’s Word and will, and you refuse to, then that is being stubborn. When God is telling you something and you continue to ignore it, then that is stubbornness. When God is telling you to stop and you continue to go, or when He is telling you to go and you don’t want to, then that is stubbornness.
Stubbornness then is our refusal to obey what God is leading us to do. It is also doing the same thing that God already said we should not do. This was the case with the Israelites. They continued to murmur and complain, even after God punished them. They continued to doubt God even after God showed up several times.
Again, I will say that we are no different from the Israelites. We are stiff-necked and stubborn people. I for myself can honestly say that I have been very stubborn in a lot of ways. There were several times when God told me to drop an offense and not to entertain feelings of hurt, but I still continued to. There were occasions when I heard the voice of the Spirit tell me to stop, but I continued to move. There were incidents when I already knew that what I wanted to do was not God’s will but I still did it anyway. I’m sure you have your own stories of your own stubbornness. All of us are guilty of this, in one way or the other.
God hates stubbornness. In Leviticus 26:19, He said: “I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze”.
Yes, He will break down our stubborn pride. And He is more stubborn than we are when it comes to fulfilling what He said He will do. The more stubborn we get in resisting Him; the more stubborn He will be in dealing with us. He won’t be outdone by our stubbornness.
I will give you a very clear example on this one. For a long time, God has been telling me not to be so easily offended with my husband. Yet, each time he does something that is offensive or hurtful to me, I would linger in that feeling. God kept telling me to let go but I kept holding on to it. God sent me several warnings through the form of trials, and in each one I would repent and tell Him that I will not do it again. But after the trials were gone, I would go back to my old self. God proved me how more stubborn He was when I started having some sleeping problems. I had sleepless nights, two to three in a row. It was a miserable feeling. No medication helped me at all. Finally, I conceded and started managing my emotions better and better. Until now, if I entertain a little hurt or feeling of offense, God is so quick to remind me by keeping me awake at night. This was how stubborn He got with me and how stubborn He still is.
Hebrews 12:6 says that God disciplines those He loves. So because He loves you, He will take away that stubbornness from you by being more stubborn than you. Since you will never win against Him anyway, why not just surrender to His perfect will? He knows what is best for you and will do everything in His power to bring you there. Of course you still have your freewill and God will not take that away from you.
Just as the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land could have taken just eleven days, but extended to 40 years, our own stubbornness will surely delay our journey. I’d rather travel as fast as I can, no matter how difficult it may get, than delay my arrival to my destination. How about you?
Rebellion and stubbornness are very closely related to each other. And 1 Samuel 15:23 says that “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry”.
When you are trying to make something work out ... something that you know is not approved by God ... or something that He is already telling you to quit ... and you still continue to do it, then you are being stubborn. When you need to make some changes, in accordance with God’s Word and will, and you refuse to, then that is being stubborn. When God is telling you something and you continue to ignore it, then that is stubbornness. When God is telling you to stop and you continue to go, or when He is telling you to go and you don’t want to, then that is stubbornness.
Stubbornness then is our refusal to obey what God is leading us to do. It is also doing the same thing that God already said we should not do. This was the case with the Israelites. They continued to murmur and complain, even after God punished them. They continued to doubt God even after God showed up several times.
Again, I will say that we are no different from the Israelites. We are stiff-necked and stubborn people. I for myself can honestly say that I have been very stubborn in a lot of ways. There were several times when God told me to drop an offense and not to entertain feelings of hurt, but I still continued to. There were occasions when I heard the voice of the Spirit tell me to stop, but I continued to move. There were incidents when I already knew that what I wanted to do was not God’s will but I still did it anyway. I’m sure you have your own stories of your own stubbornness. All of us are guilty of this, in one way or the other.
God hates stubbornness. In Leviticus 26:19, He said: “I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze”.
Yes, He will break down our stubborn pride. And He is more stubborn than we are when it comes to fulfilling what He said He will do. The more stubborn we get in resisting Him; the more stubborn He will be in dealing with us. He won’t be outdone by our stubbornness.
I will give you a very clear example on this one. For a long time, God has been telling me not to be so easily offended with my husband. Yet, each time he does something that is offensive or hurtful to me, I would linger in that feeling. God kept telling me to let go but I kept holding on to it. God sent me several warnings through the form of trials, and in each one I would repent and tell Him that I will not do it again. But after the trials were gone, I would go back to my old self. God proved me how more stubborn He was when I started having some sleeping problems. I had sleepless nights, two to three in a row. It was a miserable feeling. No medication helped me at all. Finally, I conceded and started managing my emotions better and better. Until now, if I entertain a little hurt or feeling of offense, God is so quick to remind me by keeping me awake at night. This was how stubborn He got with me and how stubborn He still is.
Hebrews 12:6 says that God disciplines those He loves. So because He loves you, He will take away that stubbornness from you by being more stubborn than you. Since you will never win against Him anyway, why not just surrender to His perfect will? He knows what is best for you and will do everything in His power to bring you there. Of course you still have your freewill and God will not take that away from you.
Just as the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land could have taken just eleven days, but extended to 40 years, our own stubbornness will surely delay our journey. I’d rather travel as fast as I can, no matter how difficult it may get, than delay my arrival to my destination. How about you?
