Stubbornness
Stubbornness is a prevalent condition, even among God's people, as it was in Jeremiah's day. (Jeremiah 16:12) Stubbornness is a sin, and it leads to all types of problems and consequences. God dislikes our stubbornness to the point that He does not listen to our prayers for help, because we are living the way we want to live, instead of listening to Him. We must guard against becoming stubborn every day, no matter what it takes.
Being stubborn is having a hard heart and a stiff neck. It is making up our mind to do something so much that we will not listen to the Lord, His Word, or other people who try to help us. It has at its root pride, because we think we are so right that we do not need to listen to the Lord or anyone else. The problem is that our hearts are desperately wicked, and if we listen to our own heart, it will lead us astray, just like Jeremiah told the people of God they were doing. We feel like we are doing the right thing, because our heart is leading us, but remember, we are very fallible. If we ever get stubborn, Satan has us just where He wants us. All he has to do is to influence our heart, and then, our stubbornness does the rest. Please, examine your heart for any signs of stubbornness. Is there anything about which you are not willing to listen to the Lord and His Word? If there is, repentance is in order. Confess that sin, and ask God to cleanse you of it, so that your heart is soft and open to God once again.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 17-19.
Being stubborn is having a hard heart and a stiff neck. It is making up our mind to do something so much that we will not listen to the Lord, His Word, or other people who try to help us. It has at its root pride, because we think we are so right that we do not need to listen to the Lord or anyone else. The problem is that our hearts are desperately wicked, and if we listen to our own heart, it will lead us astray, just like Jeremiah told the people of God they were doing. We feel like we are doing the right thing, because our heart is leading us, but remember, we are very fallible. If we ever get stubborn, Satan has us just where He wants us. All he has to do is to influence our heart, and then, our stubbornness does the rest. Please, examine your heart for any signs of stubbornness. Is there anything about which you are not willing to listen to the Lord and His Word? If there is, repentance is in order. Confess that sin, and ask God to cleanse you of it, so that your heart is soft and open to God once again.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 17-19.