Do you have a stubborn streak in you? Sometimes we wear stubbornness as a badge of honor, a signal to the world that we will get our way. Sometimes we excuse stubbornness as some sort of genetic trait we inherited from our parents or grandparents. To be honest, we're all guilty of being stubborn at times. But stubbornness can cause more damage than we realize. Having a stubborn attitude -- always striving to get your own way -- will make you miserable.
You see, stubbornness is rooted in a desire for control.
The stubborn man wants his way, he wants it now, and he'll do whatever it takes to get it. Never mind that he mistakenly assumes he knows better than anyone else, including God. And never mind that he not only ignores but tramples on, the desires of others, including God's. He wants control. But the stubborn man fails to realize that he cannot fully control anything, not even his own life! There will always be circumstances outside his control. The result? He is perpetually frustrated. He's miserable because, ironically, he feels out of control.
And that's the danger: The more out of control we feel, the more stubborn we tend to become.
The Israelites found themselves in this "cycle of stubbornness." They wanted to take control of their future, so they ignored God's commands and took the Canaanites as slaves. When their enemies plundered them as a result, God mercifully appointed judges to help them. But the Israelites mistook God's loving correction as a threat to their autonomy.
They "would not listen to their judges," and behaved more corruptly than before. Their stubbornness followed a cycle because they refused to surrender control.
But the cycle of stubbornness can be broken. If you are a stubborn person -- if you find yourself miserable by your lack of control, despite your best efforts to hold onto it -- you can give the Lord control.
Acknowledge that you can't know or control everything, and allow Him to take over. He wants to help you, just as He wanted to help the Israelites.
But to accept His help, you must trust Him.
Don't be threatened by or wary of His correction, because "whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3:12).
Seek the Lord and allow His ways to lead and direct you.
"Lord, I don't want to be stubborn; it doesn't have to always be my way.
Lord, break this in me; get it out. I don't want to be stubborn. I can only do this through the power of Your Holy Spirit.
I ask Him to fill me to overflowing.
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