Stop Being Stubborn
Do you like to get your own way? Do you insist on doing what you like to do? Is it hard for you to change your mind and adopt new ways of thinking and living? If any of these are true, you are stubborn. Don't feel alone, though. All of us are stubborn to some degree. However, to know Christ and to grow in Christ, we must stop being stubborn.(Deuteronomy 10:16) Our surrender to God and obedience must be sincere and complete. Stubbornness makes that impossible.
God used a great analogy in Deuteronomy 10:16 to prove His point. The Israelites were very familiar with circumcision. It was a sign of their faith in God and keeping His covenant with them. Circumcision required the physical cutting away of skin. They literally took off part of their body and threw it away. God told them that they had to do the same thing with stubbornness. Fortunately, God knew what He was talking about, because we have the power to repent of being stubborn and to through it away. Then, we are free to follow the Lord fully without questioning Him.
The question for all of us is, "Are we willing to stop being stubborn?" Are we going to get rid of our stiff necks and stop saying no to God? We can do that, but will we? You are the only one who can answer that question for yourself, and you are the only one who can remove stubbornness from your life once and for all.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 12-14.
God used a great analogy in Deuteronomy 10:16 to prove His point. The Israelites were very familiar with circumcision. It was a sign of their faith in God and keeping His covenant with them. Circumcision required the physical cutting away of skin. They literally took off part of their body and threw it away. God told them that they had to do the same thing with stubbornness. Fortunately, God knew what He was talking about, because we have the power to repent of being stubborn and to through it away. Then, we are free to follow the Lord fully without questioning Him.
The question for all of us is, "Are we willing to stop being stubborn?" Are we going to get rid of our stiff necks and stop saying no to God? We can do that, but will we? You are the only one who can answer that question for yourself, and you are the only one who can remove stubbornness from your life once and for all.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 12-14.