Stubbornness

“For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again: Obey My voice. Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do.”Jeremiah 11:7-8 HCSB

Stubbornness.  Every parent’s nightmare. The hours spent arguing with a teenager trying to convince them that you’re only looking out for their best interest.  Or the struggle to get your seven year old to take a shower and get to bed on time. No matter what the task at hand, dealing with a stubborn person can be taxing and difficult.

Webster’s dictionary defines stubbornness as “performing or carrying on in an unyielding, obstinate, or persistent manner.” Sound familiar? I have seen that behavior rise up in both my boys from time to time. But to be fair, I’ve seen it in myself too. We all have that stubborn streak in us.

Last week, while looking up verses for a Bible study, I came across Jeremiah 11:7-8.  As I read it, the words “each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart.”  jumped off the page at me. God had called His people to obey His voice, but instead they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.

So many times, I’ve look down on the children of Israel. I wonder how they could be so disobedient with God so close by their sides. How could they forget God and turn to idols when they saw the miracles God preformed.  I’ve found myself shaking my head in wonder of how rebellious they acted. Then I remember my life….

Stubbornness.  It comes from an evil heart.  A morally reprehensible heart. A heart that has turned from God.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  Beating in our chest is an evil heart that God describes as desperately wicked. The root to our stubbornness is our evil heart. I shudder to think about it.

Thankfully, we don’t have to live with this condition.  Jesus came to reconcile us to Him. He has created in us a new creature. 1 Corinthians 5:17 ^“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 

I’m thankful for a God who loves me enough to forgive me for the disobedience that comes from evil heart that I have.  I’m thankful He loved me through my seasons of stubbornness. I’m thankful He drew me back to Him.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the kind compassion You show me.  Even though my heart is  desperately wicked You love me.  Guide me, Lord, to seek You daily so I won’t turn from You and grow stubborn.  Amen.