Category Archives: Stubbornness

Bible, Hard, Heart, Scripture, Sin, Stubbornness

STUBBORN AS A MULE

ROMANS 2:5

“But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,” 

I’ve known some pretty stubborn people in my lifetime. I won’t name any names – you know who you are, lol. Being stubborn normally doesn’t get you what you want. It just makes everyone around you avoid you and go the other direction when they see you coming. We’ve all seen pictures of someone trying to move a donkey that has decided it was done with walking. That’s the picture of stubbornness.

The Greek word used by Paul here for “stubbornness” is only used right here in the whole New Testament. The word can mean hardness or callousness. Paul uses it here to portray a spiritual condition. You could say that these people were hard-hearted. I am reminded of Pharoah who hardened his heart against the Hebrew people. I know no one reading this devotional blog today wants to be like that.

APPLICATION

Psalm 95:8 gives us a similar thought. “Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the wilderness,” Remember that story? This is where the people were complaining about not having any water. It’s also the place where Moses struck the rock God had appointed instead of just speaking to it, as God had instructed. One person’s stubbornness can lead others to sin. Moses’ failure to do exactly as the Lord instructed cost him the Promised Land.

We also find hardness or stubbornness mentioned in Hebrews 3:13. This is not the same word used in Romans 2:5, but it comes from the same root word. “But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called ‘today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Sin can harden our hearts. Sin can make us stubborn and callous to correction.

Are you being stubborn right now about something the Lord has told you to confess? Maybe He has told you to do something, but you are bowing up to Him about it. You won’t find stubbornness listed anywhere as a fruit of the Spirit. Allow yourself to be molded into the shape God wants. Then you can be His useable vessel, not some hard, cracked pot.

Father God, help me shed any pride or stubbornness that keeps me from being all You want me to be.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Abiding, Attitude, Bible, Direction, Discipline, Following, Scripture, Stubbornness, Submission, Yoked

YOKED TO THE MASTER

ZECHARIAH 7:11

“‘But they refused to pay attention, and turned a stubborn shoulder and plugged their ears from hearing.’”

Lalala! You’ve seen children, when told to do something, stick their fingers in their ears and say that, right? They don’t want to hear what they are being told. They are stubborn and rebellious and don’t want to follow directions. I have had to deal with a lot of those kinds of kids through my ministry years. When they are doing that, it is really hard to get them to listen. I would usually leave them alone to let my words sink in and come back later when they were ready to listen.

In today’s verse, God is further describing His rebellious children. These words in Zechariah sound very familiar. In Hosea 4:16a it says, “Since Israel is stubborn like a stubborn cow,…” The last line of Nehemiah 9:29 says, “…And they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not listen.” Hmm, so this attitude had been going on for a long time. Why didn’t the people listen? Don’t start pointing fingers at them. Remember, when you do that, you have three pointing right back at you.

APPLICATION

Just how plugged up are your ears? I don’t mean with wax (yea, I know that is gross). I mean are you refusing to listen to God? Have you turned a stubborn shoulder to Him. That is a perfect picture of a stubborn animal in a yoke pulling in the wrong direction. If they keep doing that, they will rub a sore spot on their neck and shoulder. We can get the same result when we pull against the yoke.

Matthew 11:28-30 is a great illustration of this. Jesus says here, “28 ‘Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.’” Did you catch that last phrase? His yoke is easy! You just have to yield to Him.

I have enough callouses on my shoulders and neck to prove this point. But I finally learned that it is much easier when I allow Him to guide me. His yoke is easy and comfortable IF we allow Him to lead. Will you do that today? Yield to the Master.

I am thankful I am yoked with You, Jesus. I know You will always lead me right.

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Bible, Boasting, Conceit, Exalting, Humility, Scripture, Stubbornness

WALKING RIGHT 

MICAH 2:3 

“Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am planning against this family a catastrophe from which you cannot remove your necks; and you will not walk haughtily, for it will be an evil time.’” 

I have to admit something. Sometimes I can get a little haughty or arrogant. I jokingly say most mornings when I get up and look in the mirror, “Well, it happened again last night.” That’s when my wife would ask, “What happened?” I reply, “I got better looking. It’s just the Willis curse.” LOL 

The people of Israel and Judah were walking haughtily. That means to be too big for your britches (according to local Southern colloquialisms). That Hebrew word for “haughtily” only occurs right here in Micah 2:3. It comes from the Hebrew word rum which means high and lifted up. Get the picture? They were walking around with their noses up in the air. Stuck up people. 

APPLICATION 

Have you known people like that? Unfortunately, I have. They are not much fun to be around. They look down their noses at you. I have even known Christians who acted that way. That is no way for a believer to live. We have to be better than that. Remember, God said He would humble the exalted and exalt the humble. Even the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar said this about proud people. “He is able to humble those who walk in pride” (Daniel 4:37) 

I want to encourage you today to humble yourself before a holy God. Go to Him on bended knee and ask Him to show you the pride in your life. He will gladly point this out because pride (in this sense) is not the kind of character He wants to build in you. 

I said earlier that I can be proud sometimes. When I start to get puffed up, my sweet wife reminds me of who I am in Christ. The Holy Spirit kicks in and reminds me that my place in the kingdom is solely dependent on my Savior, not my abilities and genius. I want to serve as His humble servant. Will you bow with me today? 

God, forgive me when I try to exalt myself. Remind me to sit at the end of the table waiting to be asked to sit in the place of honor. 

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Advice, Bible, Choices, Compassion, Direction, Disciplemaking, Following, Gentleness, God's Will, Inspirational, Judgment, Obedience, Punishment, Repentance, Salvation, Scripture, Stubbornness

GOD’S WIND

HOSEA 13:15

“Though he flourishes among the reeds, an east wind will come, the wind of the LORD coming up from the wilderness; and his fountain will become dry and his spring will dry up; it will plunder his treasury of every precious article.”

I love to fish. I used to own a fishing boat and would go out on our local lake to fish. Sometimes when you are out on the water the weather changes. I can remember one day when I was out with some friends when that happened. The sky started to get dark, so I checked my weather app. Sure enough, a storm was coming. I could see the water getting rougher from the approaching winds. I had to get off the water for my safety.

The wind of the Lord came up from the wilderness, says Hosea. God’s judgment on Israel was coming. They were going to feel the wrath of God soon. But Israel continued to ignore the signs. They continued in their sins and rebellion until the wind hit them. Stubbornness and pride will always bring you down.

APPLICATION

When you see a storm coming, don’t you take cover? I can remember preparing for approaching hurricanes when I lived in Florida. We boarded up windows and brought in outdoor furniture. We would have been foolish to do anything else. But so many of us ignore the approaching wind of the Lord. We think it certainly won’t hit us. God is too loving to punish us, right?

Wrong! I have said it multiple times – God cannot and will not allow unrepentant sin to go unpunished. Without Christ His wind will catch us all. But once we come to Christ and confess our sins, His wind will simply fill our sails and carry us along on our journey. It’s the same wind but with a different purpose. Isn’t that amazing?

I choose to have my sails filled with the gentle breath of the Lord’s wind. I want Him to guide me in my daily walk with Christ. I trust Him to blow as gentle or as strong as necessary to do that. And wherever He leads, I will go.

Wherever He leads, I’ll go, Wherever He leads, I’ll go. I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so. Wherever He leads, I’ll go.

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Accountability, Advice, Bible, Choices, Comfort, Commands, Direction, Disciplemaking, Judgment, Obedience, Punishment, Stubbornness

LIVESTOCK

HOSEA 4:16

“Since Israel is stubborn like a stubborn cow, will the LORD now pasture them like a lamb in a large field?”

My Grandma Carter raised cows. The funny thing was she didn’t like to eat beef. She spent hours tending to, feeding and watering her cattle, but didn’t enjoy the fruits of her labor. I remember going out in the pasture with her at times. She always carried a whip with her and did not hesitate to use it on the stubborn cows. As a little boy I thought that was cruel. Now I know it wasn’t. She was just trying to move them.

Hosea uses the imagery of cows and sheep here. The cows are stubborn, and the sheep are unprotected in a large field. The people who heard this message understood this. They understood how you handle stubborn cows. God was doing the same with Israel. They also knew you didn’t place sheep in large fields with no protection. Israel was heading toward exile (a large, unprotected field).

APPLICATION

Now, let me ask you a question. How stubborn are you? Are you “pulling against the yoke”? Do you know what that does? When you pull against the yoke rather than in it, you develop blisters and raw spots. The yoke is designed to not do that. If a cow gets raw spots on their skin from rubbing against the yoke, they will be in pain and not pull as effectively.

Stubbornness may seem like a good thing, but it’s not. It especially isn’t when you are being stubborn against God. The Lord gives us specific commands to follow. When we bow up and refuse to obey, we are going to suffer the consequences. We will develop those blisters that will bring pain.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like blisters. I don’t like the pain they bring. So, I have a choice. I choose to stay yoked to Jesus and follow His lead. When I do that, I will not develop those painful blisters. Following His lead will allow me to grow in my “pulling” status. I will get stronger and smarter as I follow Him.

Father, I thank You for discipline. When I am showing my stubborn streak, I ask You to correct it. I want to follow You.

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